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Delicious Monster

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Welcome to Delicious Monster

Hello! Thanks so much for visiting my website. I’m Nicky, a Johannesburg-based photographer, content producer, product developer and curator behind Delicious Monster. DM has gone through a lot of changes over the past few years, especially since March 2020 (thanks to a certain Pandemic), and has evolved from a blog into a business.

My goal for Delicious Monster is to establish it as a brand with multiple portfolios, always keeping food & lifestyle at its core. I want to collaborate with like-minded brands, creating authentic content which can be shared with my community.

Food, Travel, Design, Decor, Plants & Photography

I will never work with a brand that doesn’t share the same values as me, and I won’t ever mention a brand or product which I wouldn’t necessarily use in my everyday life. Creating genuine content is something I take very seriously! You might see me sharing stuff which isn’t sponsored, but that’s because if I find something I love then it’s only natural for me to share it with others. Helping local brands and businesses grow is also important.

Early Days

I began blogging in 2015 when I moved to Shanghai and started a blog called Lotuses+Lanehouses, where I shared stories about expat life, as well as recipes and a few travel guides.

In late 2017 I left my job as Director of Content at cooking app developer, SideChef, and decided to start freelancing full-time. It was a scary transition for me because I was also going through a lot of personal changes in my then relationship, and my time living in China was coming to an end. This was the ultimate reason why I decided to rebrand to Delicious Monster and allow it to become something far more general and not tied specifically to living in China.

I moved to London in early 2018, where I remained for just under a year. In early Feb of 2019, I returned to South Africa single, out of work and living with my parents at 35 years old. It was then that I decided to put my life back together again and do my absolute best to turn Delicious Monster into something special and something that was mine.

New Beginnings

So I put myself out there again and landed a few contracts doing social media content production & management for various clients, slowly beginning to grow DM again after neglecting it for so many months.

I’d always dreamt of being able to combine my content creation, recipe development and photography into one, as well as also wanting to start an online shop. Little did I know that at the beginning of 2020, I was a couple of months away from being thrown into the deep end and would need to do just that in a minimal amount of time.

Twenty Plenty of Growth Opportunities

All of my contracts were terminated during the first two weeks of lockdown. I found myself without any paid work but once I’d gotten over the initial shock and disappointment, I needed to act quickly and figure out a way I’d keep Delicious Monster alive.

It was obvious that a lot more people were needing to cook for themselves thanks to being stuck at home, so I decided to produce and self-publish my first recipe ebook, The Isolated Kitchen. I needed to also be able to sell it online, so I started my shop and it just grew from there.

I produced two more books in 2020 and added a curated selection of beautiful products to my shop. I started doing product photography for a few brands who began selling online, found myself another social media client who I also assist with sales & marketing, and am the first South African Brand Ambassador for iconic French jar brand Le Parfait – and I’m just getting started.

If you’re a brand or business and would like to work with me please click here. I can’t wait to chat with you!

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Hi There! I’m Nicky.

Thanks for visiting Delicious Monster. I’m a photographer, content producer, product developer, curator the person behind Delicious Monster.

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SHOP LE PARFAIT




Latest Posts

Little Latsky x Delicious Monster

Plant-Based Dairy Alternatives

Horchata Oat & Fig Bowl

Small Batch Chocolate Fudge & Fig Cupcakes

Chocolate Fudge & Fig Cupcakes

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✨NEW SMALL BATCH CHOCOLATE SAUCES✨ I’ve add ✨NEW SMALL BATCH CHOCOLATE SAUCES✨

I’ve added not one but two NEW small batch chocolate sauces to my range: Salted 55% Dark Chocolate AND Milk Chocolate 🍫 

Available now to pre-order as part of the Easter Chocolate Sauce Gift Pack I’ve just loaded on to the shop. The ultimate Easter gift for the chocolate-lover and a great way to taste all three of my small batch chocolate sauces. 

Pre-orders close 19 March, with deliveries going out from 22 March onwards in time for Easter Weekend. 

Link to shop in bio or here: https://mydeliciousmonster.com/product/easter-chocolate-sauce-gift-pack/
✨Are you a small food business needing content?✨

I love collaborating with businesses who share the same values and love for all things food. I also know how tough it can be juggling a million things, plus having very little resources and not being able to make content you can share with the world to show them just how beautiful your brand, products and/or services are.

👉🏼 Scroll on for more info about my Small Food Business Content Package options...
It’s a jungle out there, and by there I mean the It’s a jungle out there, and by there I mean the gorgeous garden at the back of the @orchid_farmstall just outside Nelspruit 🌿
Might be away for the weekend, but always on the l Might be away for the weekend, but always on the lookout for opportunities to take photos. Have also decided to start printing my own background boards with surfaces I find, like this concrete screed which I used to photograph one of the jars of Coconut & Mango Chia Puddings I made before we left Joburg (recipe below)... 

Coconut & Mango Chia Pudding Jars

Ingredients Per 200ml Le Parfait Super Terrine Jar:

1/2 cup coconut milk
2 tbsp chia seeds
1/2 mango, roughly chopped 
200ml Le Parfait Super Terrine

Combine the coconut milk and chia seeds in a small bowl or glass jug (depending on the amount of servings you’re making), and place in the fridge to allow the chia seeds to swell for 20 minutes. Place the chopped mango in the bottom of the jar and and top with the chia & coconut milk mixture. Pop the swing-top lid on and refrigerate until serving. Can be made up to 3 days in advance.
Weekending hard over here 🙋🏼‍♀️ Weekending hard over here 🙋🏼‍♀️
Experimenting with nut butters is something I star Experimenting with nut butters is something I started doing around 2014, when I was following a HFLC diet. Back then the nut butter industry was still very much in its infancy in South Africa, so I made a lot of my own. My poor Nutribullet used to take such a beating, that it eventually had to be replaced after I burnt the motor out 🤦🏼‍♀️

Fast-forward a few years and my equipment has since been upgraded to a Thermomix, although I don’t really make my own nut butter anymore but still love the stuff!

@buttanuttspreads sent me a very generous box of their range of nut butters a couple of weeks ago, which I haven’t really had to time to get properly stuck into yet - but it’s coming! 

I did manage to work this Cinnamon Macadamia Nut Butter into the Horchata Oat & Fig Bowl recipe I published on my site a few days ago, which worked beautifully. 

#notsponsored #gift
You might have noticed on my Stories that I’m aw You might have noticed on my Stories that I’m away at the moment. We’ve been regularly visiting Marloth since December 2019 and have developed a serious fondness for it. So much so that my boyfriend recently bought a plot here, which he plans to build on in the next couple of years - so watch this space for more about this piece of paradise and follow @naboom_house if you’re interested in plot, building and bush-related stuff 🌳
✨Before & After✨ Made in small batches from q ✨Before & After✨

Made in small batches from quality ingredients, this decadent and highly-addictive Caramelised White Chocolate Sauce is exquisite on ice cream and can be used to decorate cakes and cupcakes. The nature of the ingredients used causes it to harden as it cools, creating a beautiful chocolate shell. 

Available to shop online with nationwide delivery 📦 

#smallbatch #caramelisedwhitechocolate #deliciousmonster #chocolatesauce #whitechocolate #icecream #cakes #cupcakes #baking #chocolate #lovelocal #smallbusiness #supportlocal
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