Upwards, Karen Dudley

~ Tandy

Karen is now looking and living upwards! This was so evident when I  met her last November at the launch of her recipe book. It was amazing to see her living well, and with grace. In her latest recipe book, the recipe layout goes against the grain. With the method on the left and the ingredients on the right. Somehow, this feels a bit like Karen herself.

Upwards

Upwards

In Upwards,  Karen Dudley invites us on a culinary journey that transcends the ordinary, encouraging us to look up to what is true and essential – living simply and well.
In this follow-up to  Onwards,  Karen, with her signature warmth and insight, shares how the act of cooking can – and should be – a letting go of life’s daily preoccupations, a way to connect with ourselves and others, by paying attention to the pleasure and enjoyment of cooking something beautiful, delicious and even surprising.
Sharing recipes from a vibrant palette of flavours,  Upwards  lifts Karen’s loyal community towards the next level – to learn new skills, to look up to quality over quantity and to pay attention to the splendour that can come from the meditative act of cooking.  Upwards  is thus a call to be inspired, to create and to connect, all the time looking up, up, up, as we invite into our kitchens new dishes, new flavours and new possibilities.
Today’s recipe book review from Lavender and Lime ♥ Upwards ♥ #LavenderAndLime Share on X
Chapters are divided into:
  • dress up
  • crisp up
  • buckle up
  • freshen up
  • meat up
  • layer up
  • plant up
  • rise up
Confit Garlic Butter, Caper Mocha Butter, Sardine Butter
Confit Garlic Butter, Caper Mocha Butter, Sardine Butter
Recipes that caught my eye:
  • nam jim dressing (p14)
  • tamil marinade (p17)
  • furikake (p25)
  • arayez (p34)
  • courgette baba ghanoush (p38)
  • preserved lemon hummus (p39)
  • caper mocha butter & sardine butter (p46)
  • pickled radishes (p53)
  • sumac slaw (p81)
  • za’atar potato salad (p100)
  • multi tomato salad (p110)
  • fragrant lamb shoulder (p132)
  • okonomiyaki (p142)
  • paprika ‘hasselback’ potatoes (p156)
  • leeks vinaigrette (p162)
What I made:

I made the furikake as it was an ingredient needed for the okonomiyaki. A few weeks ago, I made a quick flatbread, and added some to the dough. I cannot begin to tell you how amazing it made the flatbread taste. The okonomiyaki made for a great lunch and was well worth the effort. I made the caper mocha butter the day after the launch as it was so good when we had it at The One & Only. I also made the sardine butter as this is the best thing to have on toast!

Furikake Sprinkled On Okonomiyaki
Furikake Sprinkled On Okonomiyaki
My impressions:

Having met Karen, it made me love the recipe book even more! There are beautiful hand drawn illustrations which were done by her daughter’s friend. I just loved this homely touch to her recipes. Do not expect photographs on every page, or for every recipe.

Cook the book:
About the author:
Karen Dudley is on a mission to improve people’s dining experience, one meal at a time. Once proprietor of the beloved and groundbreaking eatery  The Kitchen  in Woodstock, she now spends her energy creating and developing menus for restaurants and hotels around South Africa. When she’s not at work spreading knowledge in commercial kitchens in the Waterfront or boutique game lodges deep in the bushveld, she will be found in her own kitchen at home. This is where she creates entirely new recipes and tweaks old favourites into delicious new variations. And when the stack of recipes is tall enough, she puts them into a new book.
People who are lucky or clever enough to get their hands on a Karen Dudley cookbook can then join Karen on her mission to make food that is more delicious, stylish and doable. Karen has a dedicated following of cooks using and sharing her range of flavours and tastes… With this new book, we take our community upwards to the next level.
Publishing information:
ISBN 9781432311957
Format Trade Paperback
Published November 2025

Click this link if you wish to purchase the recipe book on Amazon Kindle.

Penguin Random House South Africa sent me this recipe book to review.

See the links below for blog posts I published on March 31:

 

Lavender and Lime Signature
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Published by Tandy

I am passionate about using regional, seasonable and sustainable produce when I cook. I live in Gordons Bay with my husband and dogs. We visit new places locally and overseas as often as we can to experience the food of the area. Follow along on our adventures!

12 thoughts on “Upwards, Karen Dudley”

  1. Sounds like a very different and interesting cookbook! Today I found a couple of cookbooks that people threw out..god bless them..that didn’t throw them into the garbage bin, but instead they left them beside. So I picked up a couple of them…one was still wrapped in a plastic..completely new.

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  2. My messages as of yesterday seemingly refused to travel westwards – so could not tell you how fun I thought you must have had with this book – food prep looked at a somewhat original way. Liked the choice of recipes travelling from the Mediterranean and Middle East all the way to Japan and other points in the East . . . methinks you will be reaching for this volume more oft than others . . .

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