It’s Marvelous what Milo Can Do For You

Warm and delicious Entering the world of Milo - a beloved malted drink that’s an essential backdrop to so many childhoods around the world. For My Recipes, September 2018 Children in Malaysia and Singapore know that dinosaurs still roam the streets. So does Godzilla. From within kopitiams (coffee houses), mobile vendors and vans [...]

Eight Seats Too Many, Eight Seats Too Few

The Table Ishay Govender (@ishaygovender) Until The Day– Thanksgiving Series, for Popula, November 2018 We felt like conspiratorial knights by ordering a round dining room table, its handsome surface echoing the inlaid grain and gleam of a Louis XV replica, painstakingly crafted but modernized sans the Rococo flamboyance. A good table to lay [...]

All You Need to Know about Durban Indian cuisine

Garlic, chillies and ginger, some of the vital ingredients that go into making a delicious pot of curry These are the fieriest curries in the land. But Durban Indian food isn’t confined to just curry. Here you’ll find a unique mix of South and North Indian dishes like breyanis and pilaus, and cooking [...]

Piedmont – A Food Lover’s Italian Odyssey

Piedmont – A Food Lover’s Italian Odyssey From Turin to Bra, Alba and the neighbouring wine valleys, Ishay Govender enjoys a taste of Slow Food’s home and the birthplace of so many iconic foods from bread sticks to Nutella. For Food & Home, March 2019. City of Mystery, Divinity & Confection During my [...]

The Must-Visit Restaurants in Durban

Delicious Durban Curry Durban, on South Africa’s east coast, is known for its laid-back vibe, warm waters and liberal use of spice. While gourmands will say this isn’t the capital of fine dining, you can expect to find great value and quality ingredients in abundance. It’s the perfect place to indulge in the [...]

Georgian Supra – An Endless Feast

Georgian Supra – An Endless Feast (@ishaygovender) A version of this article appeared on Food & Home, October 2018 Bakery Ballet Nana Chivadze, a baker with flushed cheeks and a toothless grin, tips over, head first into a hot toné – the Georgian circular terracotta oven similar to the Indian tandoor. Deftly, she slaps the [...]

Q&A with Ishay Govender on CURRY – Stories & Recipes across South Africa

For South African Airways, Sawubona Magazine, May 2018, by Alex Matthews What, in your view, defines a curry — and what are the hallmarks of a good one? One thing I learned from the various cooks around South Africa, is that the definition of a curry is very elastic - it differs widely between regions, communities, and even families. [...]

Mealie Meal Pap Recipe

Creamy Mealie Meal Pap Mealie meal pap or porridge is a breakfast dish of milled white maize enjoyed across demographics in South Africa. By Ishay Govender (@IshayGovender). For Woolworths TASTE, September 2018, story: Things we Found in the Fire Mealie meal pap eaten simply with sugar and milk or with golden syrup and [...]

By |2020-06-10T11:12:31+02:00October 24th, 2018|Africa, Food, South Africa, South African Cuisine|0 Comments

Basque Road Trip – A Taste of Design, Culture & Heritage

Guggenheim Museum by night Visit the highlights in Spain’s Basque Country to enjoy the best in architecture and cultural heritage. (@IshayGovender), for The National, Aug 2018 Three weeks in the Basque Country, an autonomous region in northern Spain, where the icy waves of the Bay of Biscay meet the misty green valleys, may be [...]

By |2020-06-10T11:12:44+02:00September 17th, 2018|Cities, Culture & People, Europe, Food, Reported Work, Travel|0 Comments

Democratising Food Writing

When the late U.S restaurant critic Jonathan Gold wrote about food, he invariably commented on the irrational fear white Americans have of their neighbours, forging connections along the way. Ishay Govender breaks it down in our local context. (@IshayGovender), For Sunday Times, August 2018 Recently, a well-known South African chef with a restaurant brewing beer [...]

By |2020-06-10T11:14:00+02:00September 12th, 2018|Africa, Chefs, Food, Reported Work, Restaurants|0 Comments

Kobus van der Merwe Forages at Wolfgat

Wolfgat, a 20-seat restaurant outside Cape Town, is leading the way in a time of drought (@IshayGovender), For Saveur Magazine, Oceans Issue, 2018 In a dry place. The salty tang of fresh kelp lifts on a crisp breeze, across the cream-colored sands of Die Krans in Paternoster, once the lookout for fishermen monitoring [...]

Curry for Breakfast

Lamb chops in chutney, curried tinned pilchards, leftover chicken curry shredded and served on toast. We look at the South African Indian breakfasts that shaped Ishay Govender’s childhood as she makes a case for curry for breakfast. (@IshayGovender), For Extra Crispy My Recipes, August 2018 As they say, curry is always better the next day. [...]

An Ode to Rooibos 

The indigenous South African Khoi and San drank it as tea, now the world slathers it on their faces. But who will credit the primary knowledge-holders? (@IshayGovender), For Extra Crispy My Recipes, July 2018 An ode to Rooibos. Image: Shutterstock An elderly Khoi woman follows a trail of ants, watching them roll miniscule rooibos [...]

Lisbon – A Feast of Many Nations

More tourists are flocking to Lisbon each year As Portugal’s economy strengthens, more visitors are supporting restaurants old and new. (@IshayGovender), For Business Day, May 2018 Strewn across the Seven Hills, Lisbon’s azulejo (ceramic tile)-covered buildings stack together forming countless arches through which the famous yellow eléctricos, or trams pass, rickety over the cobblestones [...]

By |2020-06-10T11:23:51+02:00June 22nd, 2018|Chefs, Europe, Food, Portugal, Reported Work, Travel|0 Comments

The dark, Complicated History of Durban Curry

One writer traces the evolution of Durban Indian cuisine, and the role her indentured ancestors played in shaping the city’s culinary and cultural landscape (@IshayGovender), for MIC, October 2018 Fish curry, tripe curry, mutton curry, you name it, Durban's got it and it's all mouth-watering. On South Africa’s palm tree-lined east coast, within [...]

Matsvnis Soup – a Georgian Centenarian Secret

Matsoni, the miracle soup. This Georgian soup is said to boost longevity and battle hangovers (@IshayGovender) for, Culture Cheese Mag, April 2018 Want to live to be over 100? In the Caucasus Mountains of Georgia, a region with no shortage of centenarians, one rumored key to longevity is a thin, mildly tart fermented [...]

By |2019-09-10T14:42:28+02:00May 6th, 2018|Cheese, Europe, Food, Reported Work|0 Comments

Mealie pap – white maize meal porridge

shot by Claire Gunn Mealie Pap. A South African Breakfast For All (@IshayGovender), For Extra Crispy My Recipes, April 2018 On cold mornings, I recall my mother bustling about in our suburban South African kitchen, ladling out bowls of creamy mealie meal pap or porridge. Hot from the saucepan, she’d stir in a little [...]

The Algarve – A Road Trip Food Guide

A road trip through Portugal’s dazzling south,  for Woolworth's TASTE Magazine, April 2018. From atop of the ragged schist cliffs of Praia do Castelejo near Vila do Bispo in the western Algarve, a paraglider launches, with long strides and a short run-up. He lifts off and floats over the golden sands below, a circle of surfers [...]

By |2020-06-10T11:32:45+02:00April 24th, 2018|Europe, Featured Article, Food, Portugal, Travel|1 Comment

Ben Shewry – Chef’s Profile

Featured in Taste Magazine Ben Shewry, head chef and owner of Melbourne’s Attica is known for his thoughtful dishes incorporating Australian Aboriginal ingredients and his generosity to staff and colleagues. We caught up with him during the World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards in the city, where Attica ranked at number 32. I decided [...]

Mérida Food Guide – a Taste of the Yucatan

  Live band at La Negrita The cultural capital of the Yucatán peninsular, Mérida is a compact city rich in colonial history with cosmopolitan flair and has the region’s broadest span of dining options, from market stalls and mobile kiosks to glamourous dining in lavish haciendas.  Mérida Food Guide, written for Fine Dining Lovers. [...]

By |2018-08-24T14:27:11+02:00February 28th, 2018|Cities, Culture & People, Food, Reported Work, Travel, Yucatán|1 Comment
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