MasterChef South Africa winner 2022Shawn Godfrey ‘The Roasted Dad’

FOR SHAWN GODFREY, MASTERCHEF SA 2022 WINNER, THE COVID LOCKDOWN BROUGHT BACK HIS LOVE FOR COOKING! WHILE STUCK AT HOME, HE NEEDED TO FIND A CREATIVE OUTLET AND COOKING IT WAS. AND SO, ‘THE ROASTED DAD’ WAS BORN.

During the winter of 2020 when the days were long and the future uncertain, focus on the family prevailed and Shawn documented his food journey, sharing recipes on his social media platforms, which helped him during his MasterChef South Africa adventure. The competition was brutal and shaped the next steps in his professional career.

How would you describe yourself?

I am a big dreamer, love my family immensely and work hard to play even harder. I enjoy having lots on the go running a lighting factory with 100 staff and three other companies keeps me on my toes. Food is my creative outlet and brings creativity into the otherwise rather systematic, engineering world I live in.

When did your passion for cooking start?

It started early on when my mom fell ill when I was a child. As kids we jumped into the kitchen to assist where possible and I started becoming better and better as time went on. From my first lasagna to cooking Christmas lunch, my skills and passion for food started very early.

What was your MasterChef South Africa journey like?

My journey, I think, was different in that I went there with a clear mission in my head, to win. I realised that my family and businesses would have to sacrifice a lot for me to gone seven days a week for nearly five weeks if I won, so I entered with a clear goal to make them proud.

I studied nonstop and took every waking minute I could to try and learn from the experts all around me. I probably wasn’t the most popular of the group because I was so dedicated to learning but I felt it was what was right for me.

How would you describe the types of food you prepare?

I’m an explorer, so no two events or meals are the same. I love conceptualising new dishes and pushing my boundaries all the time to find a match between unexpected flavours.

I often intertwine French techniques with Middle Eastern or Lebanese flavours. My favourite is to collect spices and recipes during my travels throughout the world.

The Roasted Dad is a family venture. Please tell us more about it.

All my other businesses are me working with other teams. Lianne, my wife, and I both felt that if we were to add anything more, we should make it our business to enhance our lives and have fun, and share and experience this path with the family. So, we travel, cook and experience everything together.

If there is one thing you learned during your MasterChef South Africa journey, what would it be?

Tenacity and passion trump many things! You don’t have to be the smartest in the room, or the fastest or best in category in a skill. With tenacity and passion, you will get there, and you will get there with skills you can keep forever.

Who is your biggest role model and why?

My wife, she is strong, beautiful and resilient in all manners. Without her my Roasted Dad journey would not have existed.

What have you done since winning MasterChef SA?

31 March marked one year since I was crowned winner of MasterChef South Africa. After that I became a Pick n Pay brand ambassador, featured in a few @Home adverts and catalogues, and collaborated with Mercedes, Everdure, Veldskoen, Lifetree Collection and other brands.

I’ve had a pop-up restaurant, have run cooking demos, cooked at 360on62, designed the menu for the DTK wine’s 60 years celebration, and I’ve judged a potjie competition alongside Pete Geoff-Wood and Arno Carstens. I’ve also cooked for the Mayor of Cape Town, the CEO of Investec and many others at a number of private events.

Recently, a menu I designed went live on a Lift Airlines flight; now business class passengers get served a MasterChef-inspired menu!

What have the rewards been for you since the MasterChef experience?

The win enabled me to do what I love most: travel to extraordinary locations, across South Africa and beyond. I made a promise to my wife that if I won MasterChef, I’d take the family on an overseas trip, and so we traveled across the Greek Islands with our then four- and twoyear-old as well as our 5-month-old.

Mercedes Benz lent us their GLS so we could travel in style across the Cape. We’ve traveled to Pilanesberg, Montagu, Paternoster, George, Matjiesfontein, RiebeekKasteel, and many other South African gems.

I’ve eaten at Beyond, Wolfgat, Le Chêne, and Chorus and am still looking forward to eating at Dusk and others in the near future. I also traveled to Copenhagen, eating at a few Michelin Star restaurants which made my foodie dream come true!