Mari-Louis Guy, our guest chef for Prof Stan's Big Cook-off is a  professional food-stylist, recipe-developer, trend spotter, boat-spotter, traveller and mom of three very busy children. Together with her brother Callie Maritz, she has published various cooking and baking books. What is more, she is an old Matie and graduated from Stellenbosch University (and De Akker, she says) with an honours degree in home economics.

In 1996, Mari-Louis and her husband Chris traded in their starter house, ancient VW Kombi and grumpy Landy, for tickets to the south of France.

So started a long career as a private chef on the luxury yachts and estates of the super-rich and famous. This allowed her a unique perspective into the culinary delights of the countries worked in: France, Spain, Italy, Monaco, Greece, England, the Netherlands, Turkey and even Taiwan. Island life then beckoned them to The Bahamas and eventually long summers, sailing up and down the US East Coast from the Florida Keys to New York and The Hamptons.

Before returning to Cape Town to start a family, she studied the finer arts of baking and decorating with The Wilton School of Cake Decorating in Chicago and with the acclaimed baker, author and decorator, Colette Peters, in Orlando. Fresh off the boat, she entered the world of food styling as food editor for the local version of Oprah Magazine.

This was quickly followed by her own first book: Cakes to Celebrate Love and Life. The instant success of that title led to a total of 7 food and baking books in 7 years: Love & Food; Cakebread Pudding & Pie; Make, Give & Sell; Cooking for Crowds; ONE Pot Pan Tray; and The South-African Milktart Collection.

With Cape Town being one of the top five destinations for film and video production, she has handled food styling on more than 200 television commercials and an untold number more photo productions for food brands, retailers and magazines from all around the globe.

In time the front of the camera called. First making guest appearances on tv shows, as restaurant critic for live broadcast television on Expresso Breakfast Show, then as presenter and judge on four seasons of South Africa's premier baking competition program, Koekedoor/Koekedoortjie/Kokkerdoortjie.

In late 2017 the family Guy moved to Montenegro. There she quickly became involved in local food tourism productions and added to her global culinary knowledge by attending baking and cooking courses, most recently with Tortik Annushka in Moscow.​

From the Balkans she kept her finger on the pulse of our local food world as a Columnist, Blogger and Food trend Predictor for SA magazines Huisgenoot, Sarie and Crush.

If you would like to see what she is up to, follow her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/marilouisguy/

She still has some copies of three of her cookbooks available:

Koeke (ten left) R350 each

EEN (ten left) R350 each

Onthaal, (twenty left) R200 each

If you would like to order, email [email protected]