About Us

Tamsin Snyman

Tamsin trained in Promotions, Marketing and Business Communication before joining her mother Lannice's publishing company in 1994. During this time, she spent a few years in the bush working for CCAfrica (&Beyond). Based at Ngala Private Game Reserve in the Northern Province, she held the positions of Executive Chef and Guest Relations Manager.

On her return to Cape Town, she was appointed Special Projects Manager of Lannice Snyman Publishers, handling specific publishing contracts for the company. In addition she formed her own business, Bay Gourmet, specialising in high-end catering and event creation for exclusive clients.

In a Food Stylist capacity, Tamsin has worked on numerous TV adverts and movies to create weird and wonderful food. She has also styled over 10 cookbooks.

Tamsin is CEO of the SA Barbecue Association, organisers of the third Annual World Barbecue Championships held in Cape Town in 2001 and the South African Barbecue Championships in 2002 and 2003. In 2000 she was a member of the South African team that competed in the World Barbecue Championships in Tennessee. She has judged numerous BBQ Competitions and Championships around the world in association with The World Barbecue Association.

Tamsin is a culinary consultant and revamps and designs restaurant menu's, trains their chefs and implements operating systems. She is particularly dedicated to South African cuisine and ensures that it receives the recognition it deserves.

In 2009 she worked side-by-side with Lannice to create a range of fine food products for Rickety Bridge Wine Estate in Franschhoek which was marketed under the combined Rickety Bridge and Lannice Snyman trademarks.

Tamsin was the Food Editor for Shape Magazine in 2012 and is now a contributing food writer for various publications. She has authored and self-published her own cookbooks.

Tamsin has appeared on MasterChef Ireland as a guest judge and has judged the regional Ultimate Braai Master auditions in South Africa.

Along with a tight team of top food critics, she eats her way around the country in preparation for the prestigious annual American Express Platinum Fine Dining Awards which she spear-heads and hosts.

She writes for 12forward by The White Guide - an exceptional digital restaurant guide which leads you to the world's truly 'food-forward' restaurants across the globe.

She travels internationally as a food critic and is the Academy Head for the region Africa & the Indian Ocean Islands for the annual World's 50 Best Restaurant Awards. She is responsible for a team of 40 judges within this region, who eat out around the globe in search of culinary perfection.

Lannice Snyman passed away in 2010 and left a legacy which is being continued by Tamsin as she has stepped into her mother's shoes and has moved forward with the same commitment and passion that Lannice had for South African cuisine.

Tamsin lives in Hout Bay with her seven-year-old daughter Trinity Yolande Gurney.

Lannice Snyman

27 October 1947 - 9 May 2010

Late great culinary guru, Lannice Snyman, was one of South Africa's most experienced and well-respected food personalities. An award-winning author and publisher, consultant, stylist, freelance journalist, restaurant critic and internationally-accredited barbecue judge.

She held an Honorary Grand Diplomas from Silwood Kitchen Cordon Bleus School and the Culinary Art Institute of Africa (CAIA). In 1997 she received the coveted Galliova Award for the Best Food Writer in the country for her work as Cookery Editor of the Sunday Times, a position she held for ten years.

Lannice has written fourteen cookbooks, and has contributed to many more. Her first book with co-author Anne Klarie, FREE FROM THE SEA was launched in 1979 (by Don Nelson Publishers), and is still selling well after going into twelve reprints, fourteen impressions and was rewritten and re-photographed in 1994. BRAAI IN STYLE, launched in 1983, has been reprinted eight times, and was revamped in 1993. Both these titles have sold well in excess of 150 000 copies, making them amongst the most successful cookbooks in the country. Lannice and Anne went on to co-author FINE DINING in 1985.

Self-publishing was a natural next step to writing books, and Lannice launched her own company in 1995 with the help of her daughter, Tamsin. S&S PUBLISHERS produced three books, REFLECTIONS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN TABLE (1995), RAINBOW CUISINE (1998) and GOURMET HIDEAWAYS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA (2000). All three were selected as being amongst the best books in the country in Exclusive Books' Publishers Choice listings. In 1999 ONE HUNDRED WINES (an insiders' guide to South African wines) by Allan Mullins and Dave Swingler hit the shelves.

In 2001 Lannice renamed her company LANNICE SNYMAN PUBLISHERS to expand her publishing portfolio, producing mainstream cookbooks as well as venturing into Contract Publishing for a broader commercial market including hotels and restaurants (REFLECTIONS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN TABLE and GOURMET HIDEAWAYS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA both feature top African destinations).

In 2001 the company published HOME BAKES and TUIS GEBAK by author Carolie de Koster, sponsored by Tiger Milling. Due to intense interest in the book, and the fact that it was effectively geared to its target market, 33 000 copies were printed, most of which were advance orders. In 2003 COOKING WITH CANNED PILCHARDS was produced for Lucky Star and Oceana Brands as well as for sale through bookshops. 2004 saw the launch of three new titles, FRESH & HEALTHY by Annette Kesler, KITCHEN COWBOYS by Peter Goffe-Wood. In 2005 Nedbank commissioned the team to create a cookbook with Justine Drake for their Private Clients. POSH NOSH was a labour of love publishing project for the Snyman Family as a whole; a family cookbook that celebrated a selection of some of the family's most treasured, most favourite recipes. Lannice collaborated with digital photographic guru Malcolm Dare to produce the provocative and stunning FRUIT ART in 2006. That same year, to celebrate Klein Constantia's iconic VIN DE CONSTANCE, Michel Roux Jnr joined forces with this brand to create a cookbook crammed full of delicious dishes to compliment this special sip. TORTOISES & TUMBLWEEDS in 2007 became a South African household name and most treasured South African export; a cookbook that honoured our national cuisine, shining a global spotlight on our culinary heritage. Another Lucky Star cookbook, OUT OF THE CAN, hit the shelves to help celebrate our country's most loved canned fish brand celebrate its 50th birthday in 2009. Lannice teamed up again with Justine Drake to write SIMPLY GOOD FOOD in 2010 in conjunction with Discovery Health; a healthy hit of a cookbook that went into re-print within 6 weeks of launching and continues to sell well seven years on. This was sadly Lannice's swan song as she passed away on Mother's Day in 2010 before this cookbook hit the shelves.

Tied firmly to her apron strings, her daughter Tamsin wasn't too far, waiting in the wings to steer the family publishing company through treacherous waters, to calmer seas where she now sails the Snyman ship into the future.