Justin Bonello presenter, traveller, father, husband, filmmaker, gardener … and not particularly in that order … Filmmaker, veteran presenter, author and Head of Production at Cooked in Africa Films.

Justin Bonello has worked in the film industry since he was 14 years old and he is the co-founder of one of South Africa’s leading film production companies.

To date, he has presented more than 10 television series and he has produced over 23 – broadcast in over 100 countries around the world – and he has no plans to stop anytime soon.

Justin has done the very thing that we all dream of – taking what we care about most deeply and making his world revolve around them.

His passion for the outdoors and South Africa’s untamed beauty is rooted in his childhood where he has spent weekends on the Breede River and holidays at the Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape, and as he grew up, so too, did his appetite for good, wholesome, down-to-earth food.

The simple truths of life, travel, food and how they are all connected, resulted in Justin producing and presenting his first cooking travel show, ‘Cooked’ in 2003.

He quickly became a local culinary celebrity when BBC Lifestyle grabbed the opportunity to showcase his home-grown series.

‘Cooked’ kept Justin busy as the first season quickly grew into five, which aired worldwide across a number of premium lifestyle channels.

He also converted his unique outdoor cooking experiences into a cookbook entitled, ‘Cooked in Africa’, which was published by Penguin and became an instant bestseller!

Justin Bonello second book, the pocket ‘Weekend Away’, received rave reviews and his third book, ‘Out of the Frying Pan’ was an instant success!

Since those early days, Justin has gone on to produce and present 13 episodes of ‘Getaway to Africa’, which was seen on M-net, Discovery and National Geographic.