About me
I'm Melanie Minnaar (朱云兴), a home cook from a South African Chinese kitchen.
I'm South African by birth, with Chinese, German and British ancestry. I grew up in my mother's apron strings, my grandmothers' kitchens and our family restaurants in East London. The dishes that taste most like home still start in the Chinese kitchen: ginger, rice, a hot wok, a pot of bones. Since then I've cooked and eaten my way through more than one country. That's why Nigerian-style pepper soup sits next to paella in my kitchen. My partner is Italian, so a proper pasta is never far away.
Chopsticks, Pots & Wooden Spoons is the book of what I actually cook. It's built on notes, shortcuts and leftovers, and on the dishes people come back to for seconds. I'm not a professional chef. I'm a home cook who thinks good food should be useful, comforting and colourful, and should still look like you meant it.
On my blog, Rice, Roots & Everything Else, I write about family history, the burning issues of the day and life in general, with a recipe from time to time.
Causes I support
I don't run a charity and I don't collect money. These are organisations I know and trust, and if you'd like to help, you can give to them directly.
TEARS Foundation
I've volunteered with TEARS Foundation in Johannesburg, on and off, for about fifteen years. TEARS supports survivors of rape, sexual abuse and gender-based violence through a free, round-the-clock helpline and a network of people who help. Gender-based violence and femicide touch far too many families in South Africa, and this is where I've chosen to show up.
The Tomorrow Trust
Before that, I volunteered with The Tomorrow Trust, which gives children and young people from disadvantaged communities extra schooling, bursaries and mentoring, from Grade R all the way to university. Education changes what's possible for a whole family.
A New Hope Dog Rescue
And one close to my heart: my friend Liv Stirling runs A New Hope Dog Rescue, a small family-run shelter in Gauteng that rescues, sterilises and rehomes dogs of every shape and size. If you can help with a donation, an item from their wish list or a home for a dog, they'd be so grateful.
Donations go straight to each organisation through its own website. I don't receive any money, commission or reward. Any receipts, including tax receipts where an organisation offers them, come from the organisation itself.
If you need help now: TEARS Foundation's 24-hour helpline is free on 08000 83277, or dial *134*7355# from any phone to find support near you.
Get in touch
For media, review copies, book clubs, stockists or just to say hello, send me a message and I'll get back to you.