Ilse van der Merwe is an acclaimed cook, food writer, content creator, stylist and television presenter from Cape Town, South Africa. She is the author of three other cookbooks - Cape Mediterranean (2019), Simply Seasonal (2021) and Easy Al Fresco (2023), all published by Penguin Random House South Africa. Her first book, Cape Mediterranean, earned a bronze medal at the 2020 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. She has presented two series on South African television and is a regular guest on other food programmes.