We at VanZylStead are fortunate to have Heleen Meyer as one of our chefs, showing us how to use seasonal produce and create delicious yet simple dishes.
Heleen Meyer is an independent food consultant based in Cape Town. She’s a mom of two and is passionate about inspiring, encouraging and teaching others the joys of nutritious food. Heleen believes that it’s achievable and easy for everyone to enjoy delicious, healthy food.
Heleen has a B. Home Economics (cum laude) degree specialising in Food and Nutrition from Stellenbosch University. She also has an IMM diploma in Marketing. She has been an independent food consultant, food stylist and social media content creator since 2008. She is the author of two award-winning cook- books, and her third cookbook, Make five is an extension
of her food philosophy.
During 2022 Heleen and her team worked on the Cooking from the heart recipe book, the DASH Edition for Pharma Dynamics which was awarded first place in the health category for the
Eat.Cook.Live.Better: Heleen’s YouTube series is the most recent application of her aim to educate and inspire South Africans to make healthy eating a way of life.
Heleen started her career as an assistant to the food editor at Sarie Magazine. She then became the Food Specialist at AMC Cookware and was part of their head office team for 10 years. As an independent food consultant, for more than 16 years, Heleen creates social media content, develops recipes and does food styling for South African and global companies and brands such as Westfalia Fruit, Pharma Dynamics and Pink Lady® Apples.
Heleen has worked for amongst others, Cecilia’s Farm, Afrikaans.com, AMC Cookware, LiG Magazine, Dutoit Agri, TopFruit and the ATKV restaurant group. Heleen has been a speaker at Sanlam’s Glacier womens’ month event and has been a regular guest on the KykNet programme Medies. She had a very popular weekly insert on RSG, the national Afrikaans radio station for a number of years.
Heleen is confident and capable in using various communication channels to share her passion. She is comfortable talking to an audience, whether on stage, in front of a radio microphone or television camera. She also uses platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for social media marketing for both clients and her own brand.
Her website is a treasure trove of recipes and information, and her YouTube channel showcases a huge variety of videos, to make everyone feel like a chef in their own kitchen.
Thanks for sharing my story, philosophy and recipes with your audience as well, Natasha!