Sweet treat with Simoné

Simoné Vos (23), a Meyersdal resident, won the Sunday Times Best Tasting Chocolate Cake competition, she tells the RECORD more about herself and how she got her love for baking.

She grew up in Tulisa Park and Alberton, although most of her adolescence was spent in Alberton North. Currently she is a Senior Audit Clerk, although the kitchen is never too far.

When Simoné was younger, she showed a keen interest in helping her dad with the cooking, “I remember the first meal I made was fried egg, bangers and mash, an odd combination but not bad for a very young girl. I was never really adventurous with food until I started dating Riaan, he introduced me to seafood and sushi, and now I’m hooked,” she said.

Simoné and her husband Riaan mostly watch Gordon Ramsay and Nigella, giving them a creative touch to their dishes. “My love for baking started when I found a recipe for chocolate brownies in a menu at Mikes Kitchen while out for dinner with my family, I was about 14 years old at the time.

“I copied the recipe and decided I was going to try baking it, it turned out great and I loved the baking.” Not only does Simoné have a talent for baking, but she has a good sense of humour, “We had to bake meringues for my brother for a school project one year and my mom, my dad and myself took turns beating the egg white with a whisk because we didn’t have an electric beater.

“That was the day I promised myself baking doesn’t have to be hard work and one of the first appliances I bought was an electric mixer. I don’t regret that purchase one bit!”

She hoped to become a nursery school teacher when she was younger because she loves children, “I was young and naive and I obviously had no clue that children are really hard work, but I liked the idea of being able to send them home at the end of the day,” she says with a smile.

To Simoné, baking for a living seems to be coming more of a reality, so she is working towards opening her own Cakery, “It is called The Nottinghill Cakery and should be in operation soon. I have started a Facebook page where I will load my products and price lists.”

She chose the Sinful Strawberry Chocolate cake to enter the competition because the sponge is moist and decadent and tried a taste combination that she loves for the icing – strawberries and chocolate, “Yum! The strawberries are nice and refreshing and sets off the sweetness of the cake. It really is a delicious cake, even if I must say so myself.”

Her favourite food is seafood and chicken with roast veggies; cake – chocolate cake and lemon meringue; desert – chocolate fondant; restaurant – Tashas and her favourite shop is Food Lovers Market.

Her family means the world to her. She describes her mom, dad and brother as awesome and could not imagine her life without them. Simoné and Riaan got married in April and he is stil her best friend, soul-mate and the most amazing, compassionate man, “I am lucky to have a wonderful second family too now, my mother-, father-, and brothers-in-law. By family I mean friends too though.

“My friends are crazy and fun and they keep my weekends busy and entertaining. Children aren’t on the cards yet, Riaan and I first plan to travel a little before we venture into parenthood.”

She ended by saying, “Don’t let your dreams just be dreams, make them a reality. No one promised it would be easy, but they promised it would be worth it!”