My Story

Josh’s journey started on the raw age of eight when he slowly headed towards the culinary route, after making comic strips of characters cooking recipes such as Cottage Pie and Spaghetti Bolognese. That was supported by his love and his parents’ admiration for Master Chef Australia. After viewing the drawings, Josh’s father thought it would be a good idea to use these comic strips along with actual recipes for the annual Mzansi Magic Market Day that Josh already competed in the year prior.

Josh entered the Market Day with 30 copies of his handmade cookbook with the comic strips and a few fun activities that he thought would make the book stand out a bit more. The handmade book did surprisingly well that day, and to his surprise, Josh’s little stall won the “Best Stall” award at the Market Day.

After the success of the handmade cookbook at the Market Day, Random House Publishers was interested in making a book with Josh, and thus, Cook with Josh was on the horizon. The book was published a year later in 2012, and the book then went on to make Josh the youngest published author in South Africa at the tender age of nine.

In 2013, Cook with Josh was selected as the South African winner of the Gourmand Awards and not too long after that, he was chosen as one of the six global finalists for the “Best Children’s Cookbook” Award.  Josh then went to the Louvre Pyramid in Paris, France, where the ceremony was held, and later in that spectacular evening, won the big prize for his first book. After picking up the win for Cook with Josh, the publishing company was already aiming to do another book with Josh, and that book would later shape up to be Bake with Josh.

In the latter half of 2013, Josh hosted a charity event called the “Cook with Josh Charity Day” where he, accompanied by large groups of people, successfully gave 750 street kids food parcels. He believed, and still believes in one specific phrase that gave him the idea and ambition to do that whole charity event. The phrase is “Pay it forward and Make a Difference”.

In 2014, Bake with Josh was published and also went on to be nominated for a Gourmand Award for the “Best Children’s Cookbook” Award yet again. A year later, Josh flew to China for the ceremony and to his surprise, won again. This time around, Josh met a bunch ofgreat cooks from all over the world, where he picked up a lot of tips and learned many life lessons.

Later that year, Josh was informed that his first book was going to be one of the nominees for the “Best Children’s Cookbook in 20 Years” Award at the 20 Year Anniversary Gourmand Awards Ceremony in Frankfurt, Germany.  At the event, Josh won the prestigious award, making it his third world prize victory.

In 2016, Josh still focused on his cooking career by making online videos, doing interviews and cooking demos at public venues. But, in the years that followed, Josh slowly started moving away from the culinary route, focusing on his schoolwork, and also being unsure of what he really wants to do with his life. He struggled for a long time to find the missing puzzle piece, but ultimately found it in Performing Arts, especially after being cast as bit-parts in The Dark Tower and Maze Runner 3 – The Death Cure.  He then also had a small part in an Afrikaans film, KANARIE and a cast role in GRANT for US History Channel.  The joy he had on set confirmed that he was on the right path in his studies.

He always loved acting and filmmaking since he was a child, and always created peculiar things with the help of his imagination. In 2020, he decided to pursue this as his career and went on to study it at the Stage Performing Arts Studio full time. He is passionate about performing, especially acting and the art behind film, and is now going into his third year of studies in 2022.

Josh’s journey has had a lot of twists and turns, and amazing moments, but it is still far from over, as he is still only 19 and ready to walk the unpredictable path that awaits him.