Real Food, Real Style, Real Life

As an up and coming Blogger, featuring local businesses, designers and artists that fit with my personal aesthetic and lifestyle, has been something I have wanted to do for a while. So, I was thrilled that my very first collaboration was with five extremely talented creatives that are also friends of mine.

Anyone who knows me well would be able to tell you that I am fashion obsessed, I have a keen interest in interior design and I love good food. So to be able to combine all of my favourite things as well as support and promote my friend’s brands and businesses was such a pleasure for me.

I was very excited when Real Food, H&S Home Staging, Judith Williams Photography and myself, could all come together and combine our passions for food, style and interior decor, and celebrate our brands through this cocktail party/lifestyle shoot setting.

Styling is something I am very passionate about, and want to do a lot more of in the future. So this was a great opportunity for me to pick an over-all theme for the shoot, and to decide how to make the interior décor, the food and the clothing all flow.

As summer is now upon us, my aim was to achieve a fresh, summery feeling, with chic and simple outfits and clean and minimal decor. So I chose a light colour palette, and styled us all in crisp whites and soft neutrals, allowing the décor to follow suit.

When I explained my vision to Jess and Garry, they took what I had said and furnished the living area we used for the shoot, exactly how I envisaged it. All in white, and muted colours, with a slight rustic flare by choosing some miss-matched dining-room chairs, and mixing older styled furniture, such as the dining room table, with a very modern furniture in the lounge section, but still staying true to the chic, summer inspired, minimalistic setting I had in mind.

They included a great mix of fabrics and textures which really gave the living area depth and character, and a couple of white orchids really finished the whole look off and tied everything together. They created a space from a blank canvas, enabling me to envision what a simple space can be transformed into. I was so pleased with the beautiful setting they put together, and how perfectly they matched it to my vision and colour palette, right down to each last detail. Not only were they a pleasure to work with, but their work speaks for itself – it’s amazing.

They have both worked in the design industry for 3 years prior to joining their passion and talent together and starting H&S Home Staging. So, with this experience behind them, the mutual love for the industry that they share, and the natural eye they both have for design, their work really stood out to me and my growing interest in interior design. I knew they would be a great addition to this collaboration, and a local business I would love to support.

Against the neutral clothing and interior back drop, I wanted the food to be the pop of colour, and Real Food didn’t disappoint us with a spread of delicious, colourful, healthy dishes, as well as Kombucha to drink, that made our cocktail party very indulgent.

Kate and Juliana’s vision that has become Real Food, is aimed at helping people become conscious of what they are putting into their bodies, and being young women themselves, they were open about trying fad diets and living through unhealthy phases in the past. So they can now appreciate the true meaning of a healthy lifestyle and healthy food. Therefore, they wanted to create a service by which people could eat healthy, and for it to be easy, fun and convenient.

Real food is just that, it is a vegetarian based food delivery service that only uses fresh, locally grown (in season), produce, that is delivered to your door with recipes to follow. All the produce is picked and delivered to them on the same day that they deliver it to you, meaning no pesticides are used and there is no shelf life, so you will have maximum nutrients from all the produce.
They also aim to support the local farmers and promote fair trade to not only boost business for the local growers, but to make sure there is more locally grown produce available as well.

So, this is a great way of giving back as well as helping educate people on how to eat healthy. As a qualified personal trainer I am naturally very health conscious and aware of what I am putting into my body, so Real Food and the service they provide is something that really suits me and my lifestyle. Therefore it is a local business I want to support, as I believe it has such huge potential to really help people make healthier food choices, and ultimately live a healthier lifestyle.

Last but not least, this shoot and the wonderful moments captured would not have been possible without Judith’s amazing skills behind the camera. She made us all feel so comfortable, had an abundance of great ideas, and she knew just how to use up all the golden light flooding into the living area. Her unique photography style and the natural shots she captures is what really drew me to her work. We wouldn’t have been able to show case our brands and promote this collaboration without the photos to assist my post in telling each of our stories.

I loved every minute of this shoot, the wonderful people and friends I got to work with, the stunning decor, the delicious food, the fabulous outfits, and seeing our combined efforts and my vision for the shoot all come to life through these gorgeous photos.

I hope you enjoyed reading my post, that you have gained some valuable information on each of our brands and businesses, and that you are left wanting more amazing food, décor and style in your life.

Food by: Real Food (Kate and Juliana)

Interior Décor by : H&S Home Staging (Jess and Garry)

Photo Credit: Judith Williams Photography

Styling and Shoot Idea/Theme by : Sprints & Stilettos (Kelly-Ann)

Wearing:

Kate: Diane Von Furstenberg Dress, Mango Shoes

Juliana: YDE Dress, Aldo Earrings, American Boutique Shoes

Jess: Cotton On Top, Melbourne Boutique Swing Skirt

Garry: Truworths Shirt, Woolworths (South Africa) Chinos

Kelly-Ann: Kookai Crop Top, Studio-W (Woolworths South Africa) Pencil Skirt, Aldo Shoes

A Cocktail Party Host’s Check List:

When hosting a cocktail party, the key is to be super organised. You want to make sure the snacks you plan to serve are quick and easy to prepare/plate, and ideally you want to pretty much be dress, and only have to make a few changes to your outfit/makeup after preparing the snacks, and before you join the party.

So, hear is my CHECK LIST:

1. Who says you cant wear white in the kitchen! If your outfit is white/light coloured, just make sure you have an apron to pop over your outfit for while you are around the food and preparing the snacks.
2.  Choose snacks that you can cook the day before and put in the fridge so that you can just heat them up or plate them on the day of the cocktail party. (The snacks used in the photo shoot were perfect for our cocktail setting, so keep them in mind for when you are hosting).
3. You don’t want to be tottering around in heels whilst you are busy in the kitchen so have a pretty pair of flats on to start with in case guests arrive early.
4. Have your heels close so that you can throw them on once the food prep is done and you are ready to join everyone.
5. Don’t forget to have your On The Go Beauty Kit Essentials Bag ready, so that you can quickly re-apply your lippy, as you will have wiped most of it off tasting the snacks before serving them.
6. You are done and ready to enjoy the evening.

Recipes:

OLIVE, DILL, SPINACH AND ORGANIC GOATS CHEESE FRITTATA WITH LOCAL PEPPER-DEWS.

Ingredients

4 Free Range Eggs

75g Goats Cheese Olives

1 bunch Spinach

2 Spring Onions

1 bunch Fresh Dill

1 bunch Parsley

1 Red Onion

2 Garlic Cloves

Pepper-dews

1. Prepare your veggies and eggs. Preheat the grill to 220 °C. Cut the stalks off the spinach and cut into ribbons. Place in a colander and pour over one whole kettle of boiling water. Peel the red onion and cut into 1 cm thick rings. Wash and chop the spring onions, parsley and dill (leave a few sprigs aside for garnish). In a mixing bowl lightly beat the eggs and season well with salt and pepper.
2. Sauté the Onions and make the Frittata mixture. Place the onion rings with a splash of olive oil in a non stick pan on the hob on medium heat for 5 minutes until soft then add the spinach, spring onions, garlic, dilll, and parsley. Cook for a further 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Pitt the olives leaving a few aside for garnish and add them to the bowl. Then add the egg and marble the olive, spinach, and onion mixture through.
3. Bake the Frittata. Line a 7 inch cake tin with grease proof paper including the sides. Dot a teaspoon at a time of half of the goats cheese onto the bottom of the cake tin and pour the frittata mixture on top. Bake for 15 minutes until the centre of the frittata is firm.
4. Plate, Garnish and Serve. Remove the cake tin from the oven. Tip the frittata upside down onto a dry board and gently peel off the greaseproof paper. Place a serving platter or bread board on top of the frittata, slide it to the edge of your counter, get one hand under the board and one on top and flip it over. Cut into segments, dot over the remaining goats cheese, slice the pepper-dews and dot them over too and garnish with the leftover dill. Viola!

Serving Suggestion: Add 50g of smoked salmon to the frittata mixture for the ultimate treat!

BEETROOT AND BUTTERNUT MASH WITH BUTTERNUT CHIPS, CHERRY TOMATOES, ROCKET, AND PARMESAN SHAVINGS.

Ingredients

4 large Beetroot

1 Butternut

2 Garlic Cloves

1 bunch Coriander or Basil

200g Cherry Tomatos

1 bunch Rocket

50 Parmesan, shaved

1. Roast the Beetroot and Butternut. Preheat the grill to 220 °C. Wash, scrub and trim the ends and leaves off the beetroot. Cut the butternut skin on, in half lengthways, and scoop out the seeds. Very thinly slice the thinner end into half moon chips until you are halfway. Leave the bigger halves whole for the mash. Place the chips, butternut quarters and whole beetroots in one layer on a baking tray, drizzle some olive oil over and generously season with salt and pepper. place in the oven for 30 minutes or until the chips are crisps and the rest of the veg is soft. Remove from the oven and place the chips on a cooling rack so they do not go soggy.
2. Make the Mash. Cut the roasted beetroot into chunks or grate it for easier blending. Scoop all of the flesh out of the butternut skins. Place the coriander or basil, beetroot, and butternut in food processor and blitz until a smooth mash forms. Season to taste with salt and pepper and blitz once more.
3. Plate, Garnish and Serve. On a pretty serving, halve the mash into two and blob each half at opposite ends of the platter and with a spoon smear each blob down the plate. Arrange the halved cherry tomatoes, butternut chips, rocket and parmesan shavings onto of the mash and serve at room temperature. Viola!

Serving Suggestion: To turn this mash into a dip add a whole avocado to the food processor for a creamier effect.

MIXED CABBAGE AND BROCCOLINI SALAD WITH RADISHES, SPRING ONIONS, AND YOGHURT MINT DRESSING .

Ingredients

1/2 White Cabbage

1/2 Red Cabbage

2 Radishes

1 Cucumber

2 Spring Onions

200g Broccolini

30g Dried Cranberries

100ml Natural Greek Yogurt

1 bunch Mint

2 cloves Garlic

1 Lemon

1/2 teaspoon Ground Cumin

1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

1. Prepare the Veggies. Chest and squeeze the lemon. Cut the Cabbage into segments and coat each segment in ground sea salt, the lemon zest and half of the lemon juice. Gently massage the segments to soften the cabbage and leave it to marinate while you prepare everything else. Thinly slice the radishes, cucumber, and spring onions. Wash and trim the ends off the broccolini and place them in a steamer for 5 mins or until just soft but still a bit crunchy. Remove them from the steamer and run them under cold water to stop the cooking process.
2. Make the Dressing. Peel and crush the garlic and finely chop up half of the mint. Place the yoghurt, chopped mint, crushed garlic, remaining lemon juice, cumin and cayenne pepper in a jar and thoroughly shake it up!
3. Plate, Garnish and Serve. Place the cabbage segments on a serving platter, slab, or wooden board and artfully arrange the cucumber and radish slices, broccolini and spring onions. Drizzle over the dressing and lastly dot the cranberries and remaining mint leaves around the plate to garnish.

Serving Suggestion: This fresh summer salad is a colourful addition to any lunch party and pairs well with our sparkly Real Food Kombucha. Shred the other half of your cabbages, salt and massage them and place them in a jar on your windowsill for three weeks to make delicious homemade sauerkraut.