Justine Drake has worked in food media since 1988, though she’s been cooking since she was old enough to wield a wooden spoon. She has written five cookbooks and edited several magazines and supplements.

She is the launch editor of Pick n Pay’s Fresh Living magazine, still the largest food and lifestyle magazine in South Africa and recipient of numerous local and international awards, including the prestigious Pearl Awards Best International Retail Magazine 2016.

She is festival director of the South African Taste Festivals held annually in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, and Port Elizabeth. She worked at Fair Lady magazine from 1989 to 1997, during which time she created the hugely popular Busy Cook column. The column was consolidated into a cookbook that enjoyed great success both here and in the UK.

In 1997 she joined SA's first male magazine, Men's Health, as food editor and produced the Men's Health cookbook, eat, in 2000. She was food editor for Shape magazine, with whom she produced her latest cookbook.

Justine has presented a number of television shows, the most recent of which is Just Cooking, which aired on BBC and subsequently on SABC. 

Currently, she is content director of John Brown SA and works across digital and print channels for clients as diverse as Old Mutual, BMW, and Spur, amongst others.