'I've Learnt That It's Ok Not To Be Busy All The Time'

Celebrity chef and cookbook author, Sarah Graham, talks to Julia Bain about growing up on a game farm, her TV show, and the importance of balance.

- Julia Bain

Sarah, 37, grew up on a game farm and reserve in Zimbabwe, with her parents and her two siblings. She moved to Cape Town to study marketing at the University of Cape Town, graduating in 2004. In 2010, Sarah came across the concept of food blogging and started her own blog, a foodie Lives Here, and her blog content was later adapted into her first cookbook, bitten (Penguin Random House). She’s since released three other cookbooks and created her own cooking Tv show, Sarah graham’s food Safari, with its fourth season scheduled for 2019. In 2017, she launched her own range of healthy snacks called nourish Power balls. She’s also collaborated with a number of brands like Miele and UCOOK, and she’s appeared at food festivals such as The good food & Wine Show and appetite fest. Sarah lives in Bryanston with her husband Rob, 36, and their three daughters, Sophie, seven, Isla, four, and Emily, eight months.

I feel privileged to have had such a great upbringing. Growing up on a game farm is something so special. My parents used to take tourists on safaris so we did a lot of off-the-beaten-track travelling within Zimbabwe. We had horses we used to ride as well as quad-bikes. On the reserve, we had lions and giraffe, and my parents still have four orphaned elephants that are reasonably tame. Rob and I take the girls there about two or three times a year so they can spend time in the bush, away from big city life.