Jhb West - March 23

Live.
Love.
Eat
Like peanut butter and jam, mac and
cheese, burgers and fries ... Azraa and
Waven Harper are just better together.
After almost a decade of marriage, high school sweethearts
and total food nerds Azraa and Waven Harper took their
relationship to a whole new level. They entered a reality
culinary show for home cooks.
With food being their love language from the get-go,
it wasn’t too hard for the duo to put their hearts and
personalities on a plate to impress their competition. Waven
enjoys cooking basic meals, his wife loves giving them a
delicious twist, and this delicate balance is exactly what got
them through to My Kitchen Rules SA’s season finale.
The pair say they cook with their hearts and only measure
and weigh ingredients when they’re baking, preferring to
feel and taste as they go along because they feel they know
what good food should taste like.
Becoming parents of two beautiful boys shortly after school,
Azraa and Waven quickly learnt the importance of support,
communication and determination. Needless to say, these
qualities came in very handy throughout the show. Not
only did MKR bring them closer together, but it made them
realise they simply cannot live without one another.
Azraa, an avid baker, digital content creator and owner of
Occasionally Online, and Waven, a personal trainer by day
and home cook by night, have foodie dreams ... they’d like
to open an artisan bakery and café where they will make and
sell fresh quality baked goods, host special occasions and
teach other people how to bake, decorate cakes and cook.
Fave part about cooking?
Azraa: The fact that it’s therapeutic. I love creating things
and I do that through food.
Waven: The eating part, haha.
Cooking or baking?
Azraa: Baking is more fun. It’s what I do for a living and I
absolutely love it.
Waven: Baking is hard for me and I don’t like to measure. I
enjoy cooking because you can make anything with your
own twist.
Your cooking style?
Azraa: I cook with my heart and my intuition. I’ve been
cooking since I was 12, so I’ve had a lot of practice. I really
like trying new dishes.
Waven: I just keep it traditional. Most of the times, I stick to
the basics and what I’m comfortable with.
Who’s got the most annoying habits when it comes
to cooking?
Azraa: Definitely me. Let’s just say it looks like the kitchen
exploded when I’m done cooking.
Waven: Yes, I agree. Definitely Azraa. And I have to clean up
after her because I don’t like a messy kitchen.
What is your go-to midweek meal?
Azraa: A traditional flavour-packed chicken curry and rice.
Waven: Grilled chicken breasts, broccoli and rice.
If you could cook with anyone, who would it be?
Azraa: Yolanda Gamp - a self-taught baker and cake
designer from Canada. I’d really like to bake with her.
Waven: David Higgs! After meeting him and interacting
with him, I found that he is such a genuine person with so
much knowledge.
Kitchen tools you can’t go without?
Azraa: Definitely my Kenwood mixers.
Waven: A good set of knives.
Your signature dish?
Definitely our coconut prawn curry. We always get asked
by family and friends to make it for them. It’s also the dish
we’re most known for on MKR SA.
Top 3 cooking tips?
• Keep tasting as you cook.
• There’s no right or wrong when it comes to cooking, as
long as it tastes good.
• Always cook with love.
14 Get It Magazine March 2023