Ishay Govender

Cape Town, South Africa
SA POC (South African People of Colour) at the Table

Instagram: @ishaygovender @sapoctable

*Changemakers is a Cross Cultures series spotlighting inspiring women who are creating and doing in the F&B ecosystem; eading the way and helping better the world.

Born in Durban, South Africa, Ishay Govender-Ypma is a food and travel journalist, who seeks the intersection between food, culture, justice and representation everywhere. A former commercial lawyer, she started her website, Food and the Fabulous in 2010, which was awarded Best South African Food and Wine Blog in 2011. Her bylines appear in Al Jazeera, Nat Geo, Saveur, Food & Wine, Vice, among many others, and she authored the cookbook, Curry: Stories & Recipes Across South Africa.

She founded SA POC (South African People of Colour) at the Table, a group that fosters opportunities for skills exchange, networking and collaboration for people of color in the food and beverage industry, and related creative industries on the African continent. In the light of COVID-19, she has been hosting a series of panel discussions on Zoom on topics like “Women in Beverage – Access, Opportunity and The Journey to Success,” “Educating South Africa about Edible Indigenous Plants,” and “Migrants and Refugees: Forgotten during the Pandemic?” — which are also posted on their YouTube channel. She is based between Cape Town, South Africa and Lisbon, Portugal.

Tell us about you. Where were you born, raised, and what you are making or doing at present?

I was born in Durban on South Africa’s east coast and spent my childhood about an hour from there in the Kwa-Zulu Natal Midlands. I’ve been based in Cape Town on the west coast for about 17 years and until the pandemic, was splitting my time between Lisbon and Cape Town. I’m a journalist, author and former lawyer.

Like many of us, I’ve spent the months baking and cooking for the family, reading and listening to audiobooks, indulging in a few series marathons (“Better Call Saul Season 5,” “Ozark,” “Trapped,” “Dead to Me,” and “Black AF” are fabulous). After a few months of listening to members of the food and beverage industry and their particular challenges under our lockdown, I started a series of panel discussions on behalf of SA POC at the Table (you can read more about the network below).

How did you end up working at your present career? How long have you been doing this/ When did you start?

I was a practicing lawyer on a sabbatical and ended up in journalism quite serendipitously, doing what I’ve always loved – engaging with women and marginalized folks around the world and telling their stories from an angle not always featured. It all started with a blog, Food and the Fabulous in 2010 which won the best South African Food and Wine blog the year later – that gave me the courage I needed to launch into writing about food, travel and culture with a social justice angle where I can manage it, for publications I admire.

What was the biggest challenge you have faced?

Racism and white supremacy rears its head all the time, you become thick-skinned and sadly, can also become accustomed to it. Readers may know that this country was under apartheid’s white supremacist rule until around 1992, and I was 13 at the time. Almost three decades might have passed, but we have inherited the legacy of spatial apartheid, generational debt, trauma and the associated deficits. It’s very real – as you may know, the majority of our population lives in shack homes in the outlying townships. One of the challenges I’ve tried to take up over the years is the lack of representation of people of color in our particular industry – food and beverage media – in a country (South Africa) with 90% people of color. It’s been a shamefully slow shift in the old guard, and at every turn, we’re constantly faced with the precarious position all publications and media houses are facing, especially of late. So, we push for more representation but are also mindful that jobs and livelihoods are at stake and not everyone is in a position to burn bridges or call out racism as loudly as others. It’s a draining and uphill battle most days, but being in a privileged position of working as an independent freelance journalist, allows me the luxury of using my voice to advocate for our community.

How/ what did you do to get over it?

The road to that destination is still unfolding. What keeps me going though is that we have a brilliant, talented community and I am so inspired to work alongside them and to champion the cause when they can’t.

What is the best advice you can give to anyone wanting to get into or excel in your field?

Develop a deep love for your field, research as much as you can before starting the project, get used to being uncomfortable as working in the field reporting stories may have you doing things you aren’t always accustomed to (camping! hiking! etc), your subjects are more important than the story you envision – write about them honestly, but with respect and respect for their culture. Hire a sensitivity reader if you can. Tip guides and always take extra batteries for your recorder, SD cards for your camera and a note book with a waterproof cover.

What is your favorite thing about your culture or living in your city?

Cape Town is physically gorgeous, cosmopolitan with an interesting migrant African population. It has vast inequalities but also incredible potential.

How are/ have you been spending your days during this COVID-19 quarantine period? How are things in Cape Town these days?

We were under a serious state-sanctioned lockdown level 5 from 28 March and though we have eased into level 3, with some restrictions coming back into force, I have taken a very conservative stance and have been at home, and ordering most of my supplies, produce and other items for my family and I. I take care of three vulnerable people, so it’s been crucial to me to adhere to some pretty strict safety protocols. I haven’t been home for this long in 13 years or more, and it’s been difficult and humbling but also a gift in terms of time for reflection and pause and connecting with family.

Please tell us about SA POC AT THE TABLE, and how readers can take part in it.

SA POC (South African People of Colour) at the Table is a group that fosters opportunities for skills exchange, networking and collaboration for people of color in the food and beverage industry, and related creative industries on the African continent. It came about after my decade-plus working in food and travel journalism and observing how underrepresented or tokenized the Black voice was in our media. It’s a network that values community development, sharing and mutual growth.

Our website: www.sapoctable.com; Instagram: sapoctable; YouTube: SA POC at the Table; Twitter: SapocT