Durban Fish Curry – A Taste of Home

By |2020-09-04T00:23:05+02:00September 3rd, 2020|Food, Indian Food Easy Peasy, Recipe Development, South Africa|

Durban Fish curry A Durban-style fish curry evokes memories of my childhood in Kwa-Zulu Natal and my grandmother preparing freshly-caught fish in masala pastes to fry or red-hued, gently simmered fish curries over the weekends to enjoy with the family at the table. The fresh, briny scent of the sea lingered on the [...]

Mealie pap – white maize meal porridge

By |2020-01-30T15:15:22+02:00September 11th, 2019|Africa, Featured Article, Food, Food & Travel, Food Culture, History, Published, recipe, Recipes, Reported Work, South Africa, Travel in Africa|

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 papor porridge. Hot from the saucepan, she’d stir in a little more milk and sugar, and occasionally, a [...]

Matsvnis Soup – a Georgian Centenarian Secret

By |2020-01-30T15:04:52+02:00September 11th, 2019|Cities, Europe, Food, Food & Travel, Food Culture, Georgia, Published, recipe, Recipes, Reported Work, Travel, Travel and Culture|

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 dairy product called matsoni. Well-known for [...]

Chef Gaggan Anand: Pursuit of Perfection

By |2020-06-10T11:51:01+02:00September 11th, 2019|Asia, Asian Food, Australia, Bangkok, Chefs, Cities, Featured Articles, Food & Travel, Profile, Published, Reported Work, Travel, Travel and Culture|

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, [...]

The dark, Complicated History of Durban Curry

By |2020-01-30T15:07:17+02:00September 11th, 2019|Africa, Cities, Curries & Casseroles, Durban, Featured Articles, Food, Food Culture, History, India, Indian Food Easy Peasy, Nostalgia, Published, Reported Work, South Africa, Travel and Culture|

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 [...]

Lisbon – A Feast of Many Nations

By |2020-01-30T15:15:34+02:00September 11th, 2019|Adventure, Cities, Destination Meals, Europe, Featured Articles, Food, Food & Travel, Food Culture, Published, Reported Work, Road Trip, Travel, Travel and Culture, Travel in Europe|

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 that are shiny with wear. More tourists are flocking [...]

An Ode to Rooibos 

By |2020-01-30T15:15:47+02:00September 11th, 2019|Africa, Destination Meals, Drinks, Featured Articles, Food & Travel, Food Culture, Home, Published, Reported Work, South Africa, South African Tourism, Travel, Travel and Culture|

An elderly Khoi woman follows a trail of ants, watching them roll miniscule rooibos seeds into a nest underground. She stoops to her knees. Inside these anthills, she discovers Lilliputin granaries of seeds. Returning with a matchbox full, the doctor hands her a shilling. She will return to him several times, opening her palm to [...]

Curry for Breakfast

By |2020-06-10T11:53:32+02:00September 11th, 2019|Featured Articles, Food, Food Culture, History, India, Indian Food Easy Peasy, Published, Reported Work, SA Curry Book, South Africa|

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. [...]

Kobus van der Merwe Forages at Wolfgat

By |2020-01-30T15:16:06+02:00September 11th, 2019|Africa, Chefs, Destination Meals, Featured Articles, Fine Dining, Food, Food & Travel, Food Culture, Patrenoster, Profile, Restaurants, Seafood, South Africa, Travel, West Coast, What to eat, Where to stay|

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 the weather. Kobus van der Merwe stands on the verandah of his sparse 20-seater restaurant, a 130-year-old fisherman’s cottage called Wolfgat, about two hours from Cape Town, overlooking this point.

Democratising Food Writing

By |2020-06-10T11:54:21+02:00September 11th, 2019|Chefs, Featured Articles, Food, People, Reported Work, South Africa, South African Tourism|

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 The future is female.. Image: Yandisa Nazo/Ekse Lens Recently, a [...]

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