Nostalgia, for a homeland long departed, lies at the core of the Cuban diaspora’s quest for cultural identity. Dishing out memories at the kitchen table is one way that the legacy is passed on. Written for Financial Mail Travel Magazine, May 2017 Dining on Memories of La Patria by Ishay Govender-Ypma written for Financial [...]
Zayaan Khan, image by Ishay Govender-Ypma Food activist, seed librarian and community-driven leader, Zayaan Khan is changing the foodscape from the ground up. Written for Kulula's inflight magazine, Khuluma, 21 June 2017 Food As Sustenance, Knowledge, Life “Try this,” Capetonian Zayaan Khan (32) says, a headscarf draped loosely bandana-style over her cropped [...]
Following the evocative rhythms of a city in rapid flux, Ishay Govender-Ypma immerses herself in the soundtrack of Havana, looking for clues that reveal its heartbeat. Havana, Cuba's Vibey Capital. For Marie Claire SA, May 2017. Lunch Time Band THEY SAY YOU HEAR THE LIFE before you see it in Havana. Prior to my travels last November [...]
Drive the country from coast-to-coast searching for the best in street food, cheese, convent pastries and cannoli. Ishay Govender-Ypma explores Sicily on a culinary road trip. This article was written for SAA Sawubona inflight magazine, June 2017. A ghostly mist settles over Erice on Sicily’s hilly western face, once a medieval fortress town and the [...]
Poland’s beloved herb and fruit liqueur, once the ambit of women brewers only, has been made famous by a man operating from his family’s garden. For Roads & Kingdoms, August 2016. The garden is resplendent in the glow of autumn. Thirty minutes outside Warsaw central, Karol Majewski, widely regarded the country’s top small-batch nalewka manufacturer [...]
Yum Cha! Yum cha, or dim sum as it’s known in the West, refers to the act of taking tea. Here’s a countrywide dim sum restaurant round-up to satisfy your cravings for these moreish bites. Dim Sum Restaurants in South Africa, written by Ishay Govender-Ypma (@IshayGovender) for Financial Mail. Dim sum has its roots in the [...]
Photo by Ishay Govender-Ypma I arrived in New York on a day that the world changed. I had to lend my voice. For Marie Claire SA, 2 February 2017 I arrived in New York City, via John F Kennedy airport on 28 January 2017 around 11AM. Unbeknown to me, at almost the same [...]
Riding the Hallyu, the impressive K-pop culture wave, Korean food has won the hearts and bellies of the food world. For Etihad in-flight magazine, August 2016. Korean fried chicken (or cauliflower, in some circles) is widely hyped as the new KFC. While Colonel Sanders may need to spill the 11 secret herbs and spices to [...]
South Indian Sour Porridge in South Africa Sunlight streams in the early morning over the vessels on the wood fire outside; the drums with water heating for bathing, the pots with the day’s lunch. A version of this appears on Roads & Kingdoms, August 2016. sour porridge with spring onions Sunlight streams in [...]
Koreatown in Manhattan may be a long way from Seoul, but its restaurants serve up delectable national dishes, from bibimbap to bulgogi. For Business Day WANTED, August 2016. K-Town Pops The steeply vertical expanse of Koreatown in Manhattan, fondly nicknamed K-Town, crams an intense scrapbook of neon signage, supermarkets, general stores, beauty parlours and restaurants [...]
Tropes on Starving Kids from an 80s Kitchen - Things We Were Told Ishay Govender-Ypma reflects on an 80s youth of big hair, Band Aid and misguided rhetoric. Tropes on Starving Kids. This essay was written for Mail & Guardian. author with neighbourhood kids in the 80s It was the time of Halley’s [...]
Cherae Robinson Since launching Rare Customs in 2014, which facilitated foreign investment in African SMEs in the fields of agriculture, tourism and market entry, founder Cherae Robinson (nominated a “woman to watch” by the U.N. in 2014) has continued on her upward trajectory. In December 2015 she launched her start-up mobile app Tastemakers [...]
Mexico City – colourful, chaotic, and a crash-course in street-food, as Ishay Govender-Ypma learns, tasting her way through markets and curb-side stalls. Fine dining your north star? Check! But you’ll soon be drawn back to the abuela-style dishes found in the simple diners and homes around town. My Mexico City Food Guide For Taste Magazine, [...]
Taste of the Swahili Coast - Swahili Food The Swahili Coast runs from southern Somalia to northern Mozambique, a unique cultural melting pot that reflects in the cuisine. For Fine Dining Lovers, July 2016. In the village of Alfeneseni, outside Zanzibar, an east African island popular with holidaymakers for its pristine white shores and [...]
Meet the founder of Open Streets, Cape Town - Marcela Guerrero Casas Ishay: Why did you pick Bree Street to incorporate in the Open Street initiative? Marcella: When we first chose it in 2015 we thought it’d be an interesting street to test for some of the following reasons: It is a major street but [...]
Beyond the glittery resorts in Zanzibar, Tanzania, we meet a family in a village who allow us a glimpse into Zanzibari food culture. For Business Day WANTED magazine, April 2016
The Baltic regions are on the rise. We explore the splendour of nearby Poland, still shedding the cloak of communism and forging a new identity. Poland - More Than Pierogi & Vodka for Food and Home Entertaining Magazine, March 2016. Fall of the Iron Curtain Classic Pierogi If it’s pierogi – the eponymous Polish [...]
Raramuri mother and child Traversing the spectacular canyons on Mexico’s Copper Canyon on the last passenger ride, Ishay Govender-Ypma meets the reclusive Rarámuri, while learning about the country’s diverse landscape. For Mail & Guardian 26 Feb 2016 The vestibule convulses over the loops at Témoris, shaking us this way and that, but we [...]
A tough city for artists, Ishay Govender-Ypma explores the heart of the Durban’s Art Scene and creative spirit. For AFK Travel Undercover City Durban Taxi Mural Durban’s potential tends to bubble beneath the surface, not quite as bold and direct as Johannesburg or Cape Town. Durban is a laid-back city on many counts, [...]
Réunion Island Food, where culinary and cultural exploration meet Culinary and cultural exploration are deeply fused, Ishay Govender-Ypma (@IshayGovender) discovers on a visit to the volcanic French island, Réunion. For The National UAE, 4 Feb 2016. Author (2nd left) with a family of local farmers - they titled this: "The Malabar returns home" - [...]
