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 [...]
Gregory Mutambe Cape Town sommelier Gregory Mutambe speaks about progress and inclusion for South Africa’s black wine professionals. (@IshayGovender), for Wine Enthusiast, September 2018 Gregory Mutambe, head sommelier at Cape Town’s luxurious 12 Apostles Hotel & Spa left his homeland Zimbabwe in 2006, during one of its most tumultuous periods. Moved by a growing [...]
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 (@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 [...]
Beautiful city views. Image: Tbilisi The juxtaposition of old and new makes Georgia’s capital city, Tbilisi , a popular long weekend-break crammed with cultural and culinary attractions. Travellers from the UAE can take advantage of the frequent flights and short flight times (just three-and-a-half hours) to enjoy the city sprawled beneath a 17th Century fortress, [...]
Image by Claire Gunn Sommeliers Pearl Oliver, Joseph Dhafana and Tinashe Nyamudoka are working closely with BLACC – the Black Cellar Club, a South African association of wine professionals, to boost the profile of Blacks in an industry once fraught with inequality and are changing the game in South Africa (@IshayGovender), For [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Food Trends - from vegetable-only menus to shorter, less pricey tasting menus, Ishay Govender-Ypma delves into what's predicted to dominate the dining calendar. For SAA Sawubona, November 2016. If you went out to a restaurant last night, you might have experienced these changes already. From neighbourhood bistros to upmarket establishments, menus are being influenced by an [...]
The expansive inner city districts of Johannesburg, once sidestepped by tourists, are now thriving with a boost from investment and passionate locals. Ishay Govender-Ypma hits the lively streets and spends some time walking Johannesburg. For SAA Sawubona Magazine, May 2015. The Prince of Newtown Just outside the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre in Newtown – hunkering and [...]
Riga, the cultural capital of the Baltics is offering up lighter, more refined versions of Latvian staples. Written by Ishay Govender-Ypma (@IshayGovender) for Fine Dining Lovers. Riga, image Shutterstock Often referred to as the pearl of Latvia in Central Eastern Europe, capital city Riga lies at the mouth of the Daugava River and along [...]
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 [...]
Although very small, Reykjavik is bustling with bars, brunch spots and bistros that pay homage to Iceland’s rich, and sometimes objectionable food traditions. For Fine Dining Lovers, 28 March 2016. Reykjavik from the main church For a capital city this small, home to around two-thirds of Iceland’s total population of 323 [...]
Brooklyn Dining Tour - New York There’s more to Brooklyn’s culinary scene than Williamsburg. Ishay Govender-Ypma (@IshayGovender) started in Greenpoint and kept walking on a Brooklyn Dining Tour. For SAA Sawubona Magazine, March 2016. Brooklyn Dining Tour featured in the SAA Sawubona Magazine North of Hip What used to be, if the travel [...]
Travelling along Bree Street and meeting the locals who are bringing the street back to being 'The place to be'. A Bree Street Food Guide For Business Day 4 March 2016. Crammed at the portside since the colonial days, with seedy dive bars and brothels frequented by sailors, and a mere hundred meters from the sea [...]
