Karl Tessendorf has turned his lifelong love affair with big, bold flavours into a culinary mission. This self-taught recipe developer and copywriter by trade has a knack for taking the classics we all crave and giving them just enough of a twist to make you wonder why you never thought of it yourself. He is the co-author of three other best-selling cookbooks in the Beer Country series, but with his latest offering, The Good Stuff, he’s stepping away from the braai to focus on what he calls “the magic of comfort food” – 80 rib-sticking recipes for people who like to eat, drink and be merry. As one of five siblings, and now a husband and father of two, Karl brings the same enthusiasm he had growing up around his family dinner table to every recipe he develops.
What sets Karl apart isn’t just his ability to research food history until he understands exactly why a dish works, but his refreshing honesty about what home cooking should actually be: unpretentious, delicious, and designed to bring people together. Whether he’s perfecting a Sunday roast or reimagining a childhood favourite, Karl’s approach is delightfully straightforward – if you’re not cooking food you love to eat, what’s the point?
In a world obsessed with convenience meals and food trends that make you question humanity’s collective sanity (looking at you, triple-decker waffle tower dunked in molten caramel and crowned with a torched brownie). Karl is championing the radical idea that the best food happens when you slow down, use good ingredients, and cook for the people you care about. And frankly, in our increasingly disconnected world, that might just be the most revolutionary cookbook concept of all.
Q&A with Karl Tessendorf – The Good Stuff
Take a deep dive with us as we ask Karl a bit more about the book.
As a self-taught recipe developer, how has your unconventional path influenced your approach to reimagining comfort food classics?
I just love food, and whenever I cook anything, I always ask myself the same question: how would I make this better or more my style? I am not claiming to reinvent the wheel here, but rather refine it to suit my tastes. After all, if you’re not cooking food you love to eat, then what’s the point?! The classics are classics for a reason, but that doesn’t mean we can’t improve on them.
In The Good Stuff, you emphasise that food is about human connection and shared memories. How do you think modern dining culture has moved away from this, and how can we reclaim it?
We live in a fast-paced society where convenience has not only become king, but it’s all people want. Yes, life is busy, but many of us have fallen into the trap of that being a default answer whenever we’re asked, How are you doing? We’ve reinforced this message so much that retailers now cater to busy people everywhere.
Convenience meals have never been bigger. Fast food has never been easier to get, and you don’t even need to leave your house for anything these days. All this convenience comes at a cost, though. How many times a week are you sitting down to dinner with your family? I don’t mean sitting in front of the TV while eating. I mean sitting at an actual table and talking over dinner (no phones in sight). We did this every night growing up, and I think it’s so important to keep this tradition alive.
This book is greatly inspired by your memories of your mother’s home-cooked meals. What 3 things do you hope your kids are going to take away most about their dad’s love of cooking/way with food?
I hope they come away with a genuine appreciation for good food and the effort that goes into it. It takes time, but it’s never wasted time. It takes good ingredients, so they learn about quality over quantity. And I really hope they look back on their childhood with the same fond memories that I have.
Can you walk us through your process for elevating a traditional dish without losing its soul?
Whenever I am researching any dish, I take great care to understand the traditional method and flavours. Once I have a good understanding, I will tweak things to suit my taste. Sometimes it will be subtle changes, other times I’ll flip the script entirely. At the end of the day, no one from the traditional affairs department is going to show up at your door to critique your dish. So if you don’t like coriander, don’t add it to your curry. Also, food and cooking techniques evolve. I am all for using the best methods to create the best flavour, and sometimes this means straying from traditional recipe methods.
With over 80 recipes spanning everything from pastas to salads, how did you decide which dishes earned a place in this collection?
The list of recipes is always long and varied, and inevitably, it’s about removing recipes to get to your final list. It’s always daunting at first, but like any creative project, you need guardrails to help guide you. I like to break things into categories and fill them out from there.
What comfort food memory from your own life most influenced the recipes in The Good Stuff?
I don’t think it’s any single recipe, but rather the feeling that comfort food evokes. There’s a reason why every Capetonian stops at Peregrine for a pie when they’re heading to Hermanus. There’s a reason people say, “oooh, aaah!” when you suggest making lasagna. There’s a reason why my brother-in-law and I have the same conversation about how we’re going to make French onion soup every winter. Comfort food is a feeling and I hope that I’ve captured it with this book.
You emphasise sharing meals “with your nearest and dearest, accompanied by a few drinks and great conversation.” How important is the social aspect of cooking to the recipe’s success?
If you’re cooking with friends, then no matter how it turns out, you are already winning.
What role do you think cookbooks should play in bringing families back to the dinner table in our increasingly busy world?
We had a lot of family traditions or rituals growing up, and I feel that we’ve lost some of that magic in the modern world. Cooking recipes out of cookbooks is a great way to create a little family tradition. Pick something new every week and give it a try. Give the kids a chance to pick and get them involved in the cooking. Giving them a little ownership will help cement the new tradition.
Do you believe a love of cooking can be learnt? Could someone who’s never enjoyed cooking pick up your book and fall in love with the power of home-cooked food, or do you think there has to be an intrinsic part to it?
We all love eating, so I’d say a love of cooking can definitely be learnt. When someone says they don’t like cooking, it usually stems from the fear of failure. I say have fun in the kitchen. Make things you love to eat, and if something doesn’t turn out quite right, Google why and learn from the mistake.
Your book stands for classics. Food trends can sometimes get a little haywire. Which food trend has made you roll your eyes the most?
I really don’t like the more-is-more trend that goes viral all the time. Churro-covered deep-fried cheesecakes and the like. Sure, some of it is probably tasty, but where does it stop? Also, the slew of food influencers with posts that all start the same way, “I’m X, here at Amazing Place to try the supposedly best X dish in the world!’ Also, the sandwich building videos where everything is audibly slapped onto the roll or slice of bread. Whhhhy?
What is the one takeaway you hope people get from “The Good Stuff”
My hope is always the same for every cookbook I write. I hope that whoever is reading the book finds a recipe or two that they love. A recipe that they’ll cook for friends and family. A recipe that becomes their own as they tweak it over the years and eventually gets handed down to their kids. That’s the magic of cookbooks for me.
Try this recipe from The Good Stuff cookbook!
TIRAMISU-ISH BROWNIES
Feeds: 6–8 Prep: 30 minutes Cook: 25 minutes
Rejoice, for this is indeed a blessed union!
THE BROWNIE
150 g cake wheat flour
1 Tbsp instant espresso powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
150 g dark chocolate (70%), chopped into bite-sized pieces
4 large eggs
100 g cocoa powder
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
200 g butter
350 g brown sugar
THE TIRAMISU
½ C cold fresh cream
½ C cold mascarpone
2 Tbsp castor sugar
2 tsp instant espresso powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
¾ tsp cream of tartar
TO FINISH
Cocoa powder for dusting
Dark chocolate shavings
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180 °C and line a 23 × 23-cm brownie tin with baking paper.
Add the flour, espresso powder, baking powder, salt and chocolate to a mixing bowl, and mix to combine. To another mixing bowl, add the eggs, cocoa powder and vanilla extract, and whisk to combine. Set a pot over medium heat. Add the butter and allow it to melt, then add the sugar. Stir and cook until bubbles start to form around the edges. Remove from the heat and pour it into the egg mixture, whisking until it’s smooth and glossy.
Add the dry ingredients to the butter and egg mixture and, using a spatula, fold to combine until there is no dry flour. Pour the batter into the lined tin and pop it into the oven for 25–30 minutes. With brownies, it’s always best to underbake them slightly. To test, stick a toothpick into the centre. If it comes out mostly clean with some fudginess, it’s perfect. Let the brownie cool on a rack completely before topping.
For the tiramisu, add the cream to a clean mixing bowl. Whisk until it begins to thicken, then add the rest of the ingredients. Continue whisking until soft peaks form.
To assemble, spread a layer of cream on top of the brownie. Dust with cocoa powder and decorate with shaved chocolate. Pop it in the fridge for an hour to firm up, then slice and smash.
Buy The Good Stuff in stores and online at Loot, Reader’s Warehouse and Takealot. Follow Karl on Instagram.
