Chef Gaggan Anand: Pursuit of Perfection

Pursuit of Perfection with chef Gaggan Anand, written by Ishay Govender for Singapore Airlines Priority Magazine, 22 April 2018. In response to his intention to close Gaggan for good in 2020, Anand insists it’s best to “finish at your peak.” Passionate about the technique and produce of Japan, Anand, and his friend and frequent collaborator, [...]

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

Bob Marley and the Wail of Kingston

Featured in Marie Claire Magazine Before you head to Jamaica’s Caribbean beaches, immerse yourself in Kingston – the home of Bob Marley’s reggae, rhythm and blues. Written by Ishay Govender for Marie Claire SA magazine, August 2017. Thirty-six. Both Robert Nesta Marley’s age at death and the number of years that have passed [...]

Curry Traditions Across South Africa

  Gilbert's Lamb Curry Traveling across South Africa, Ishay Govender goes in search of a curry that defines the nation. Written for Fine Dining Lovers.   Is there one definitive dish that South Africans love and prepare? It’s common knowledge that the country comprises a variety of cultural, ethnic and religious groups, with as [...]

PROFILE: Chef Kylie Kwong

  Kylie Kwong, seasoned chef and TV celebrity is loved for her Australian-Chinese food and her Australia-on-a-plate approach. We caught up with her recently. Written by Ishay Govender for Fine Dining Lovers, 15 June 2017. image: Penny Lane Sydney-based chef and restaurateur, Kylie Kwong, opened her famed Billy Kwong restaurant in 2000. Since [...]

Jamaican Jerk – a Food Guide Around the Island

Taste Magazine Jamaican Jerk – succulent barbequed meat - rubbed in a savoury, spicy paste and turned over fragrant hardwood coals is central to the food culture in Jamaica. Ishay Govender takes a big bite….Written for taste magazine, October 2017. “I DON’T EAT IT, but I’ll jerk it for the people,” Nikuma Carl [...]

CHEF PROFILE: Dominique Crenn

Based in U.S since 1988, Dominique Crenn, the only woman in the country with a two-star Michelin restaurant: Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, talks to Ishay Govender about her home town of Brittany, France, DNA testing and calls out the BS amongst chefs. Written for Woolworths Taste Magazine, September 2017 issue. I go for it [...]

A Cheese Excursion Through Cape Town & Surrounds

 South Africa’s food capital offers wheels, wedges, and wine aplenty. Written by Ishay Govender for Culture Cheese Magazine , July 2017. A Cheese Excursion Through Cape Town. [Note this article is written in American English]   Feature in Culture Cheese Magazine For visitors and armchair travellers alike, Cape Town conjures visions of majestic Table [...]

By |2020-06-10T12:11:59+02:00July 25th, 2017|Cheese, Cities, Food, Reported Work, Travel|1 Comment

Helsinki Food Guide

Elegant and trendy – Helsinki wears both well, as this harbourside capital of Finland caters to a smorgasbord of interests. Helsinki Food Guide written for Fine Dining Lovers. The culturally-curious, design and architecture nerds, snow-bunnies who seek cross-country skiing and ice–swimming, and gourmands, are amply provided for.  REINDEER, SALMON & BERRIES Liisa Eskelinen, who founded Day With [...]

Kalsarikännit – A Foreigner’s Tale

Kalsarikännit for SAA Sawubona magazine  Pantless drinking at home – Ishay Govender gets to grips with kalsarikännit in Finland. Written for  SAA Sawubona inflight magazine, July 2017. You’ll remember this. Opening credits roll to Bridget Jones’s Diary. Renee Zellweger’s character sits on the couch in her Christmas PJs, glugging wine, staring down her [...]

By |2020-06-10T12:11:38+02:00July 19th, 2017|Europe, Finland, Reported Work, Travel|1 Comment

Everybody Loves Icelandic Skyr

 This cultured dairy just might be Iceland’s most adored export.Written for Culture Cheese Magazine, for the Wheys Less Traveled column, July 2017. (This article is written in American English) skyr breakfast bowl With its coal-black volcanic rock beaches, bright blue glaciers, steaming hot springs, and thundering waterfalls, Iceland is stunning. Most of its 325,000 [...]

By |2017-07-04T13:14:14+02:00July 4th, 2017|Cities, Featured Article, Food, Reported Work, Travel|0 Comments

Around the World in 10 Cultured Dairy Products

A selection of popular and lesser-known cultured dairy for Fine Dining Lovers, 21 March 2016. Icelandic Skyr  There’s renewed enthusiasm about the cultured dairy products of our forefathers. Food historian Anne Mendelson (Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages) thinks the interest in ancient milkways may stem from the “growing “know [...]

By |2017-07-14T11:38:16+02:00July 3rd, 2017|Featured Article, Food, Reported Work|0 Comments

Springbok By the Seaside

  Ishay Govender-Ypma dines with Slow Food founder and president Carlo Petrini in Paternoster, and holds back on the big questions. Inevitably some of the big answers reveal themselves over delectable skewers of springbok with wild rosemary. Written for Taste Magazine Springbok with wild rosemary   It was a moment meant for the [...]

By |2017-07-14T11:32:36+02:00July 3rd, 2017|Chefs, Food, Reported Work|0 Comments

Aboriginal Cooks on Bush Tucker

Wattleseeds Aboriginal cooks and chefs weigh in on the native ingredients made popular by famous restaurants in Australia. Written for Fine Dining Lovers, 1 June 2017. Rayleen Brown  A Café Up North At Kungas Can Cook, a café in Alice Springs serving food like burgers, salads, ice teas, pies and brownies, [...]

Perth Food Guide

Waterfront. Perth Food Guide. Perth, in Australia’s southwest, is said to be the most isolated city in the country.  It’s calm and laid back with a young but growing food scene. This Perth Food Guide was written for Fine Dining Lovers, 7 June 2017. American English used. Central Bites  Moana Coffee - [...]

Havana – Dining on Memories of La Patria

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 [...]

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