There’s a particular kind of courage it takes to walk away from one life and build another entirely, especially when the first life was glamorous, accomplished, and globally connected. Isabella Niehaus didn’t just leave fashion editing behind; she transformed a serendipitous moment into an odyssey that would eventually change how we think about South African hospitality and food.
The story begins as many of the best ones do: by accident. While still immersed in the world of high fashion, Isabella’s West Coast home was chosen as the venue for a wedding. On the eve of the event, something told her to start prepping in the kitchen. The next morning, the hired chef arrived unwell, and suddenly she was cooking for seventy people with nothing but a good salad, a decent fillet, and a few side dishes in her repertoire. What emerged from that necessity wasn’t just a meal; it was an awakening.
Friends began arriving at her door. Then friends of friends. By her late 50s, Isabella had quietly launched something revolutionary: Sunday lunches at her home on the dunes in Langebaan. The concept was simple: strangers gathered around a long table, shared her food, and left as friends. She called it Langtafel op die Duin, the long table on the dune, and it became legendary.
But this wasn’t merely a change of address or profession. It was a fundamental reimagining of what a life could hold.
The Work That Followed
What distinguishes Isabella’s trajectory is that she didn’t simply become a good cook. She became a storyteller, a cultural chronicler, a woman documenting the textures and tastes of her own evolution and South Africa’s. Her cookbook Duinhuis arrived just as lockdown hit the country, a love letter to the people and moments that had shaped her table. The book won Best in the World in the Entertainment category at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2020, an honour that came when the world had largely stopped moving.
The accolades didn’t stop. During the pandemic, she created digital cookbooks, Isabella’s Mussel Feast and Isabella’s Pork Feast, each one a conversation between her kitchen and her audience. Then came the collaborations with artist Louis Jansen van Vuuren: There’s a Vegan on my Verandah, which won Best Vegan Cookbook in the World, followed by Earthling Food 2023, which claimed the same prestigious title in consecutive years. Most recently, There’s a Vegan on my Verandah was awarded Gourmand’s Best Vegan Cookbook in the World in the Last 30 Years 2025.
Each award wasn’t about Isabella proving something. It was the world recognising what she had always known: that food is a language, and she speaks it fluently.
Bella’s Kitchen: A South African Odyssey
Now comes her latest chapter, and it’s perhaps her most complete statement yet. Bella’s Kitchen: A South African Odyssey is Isabella’s love letter to the life she chose, the people who shaped it, and the food that brought everyone to the table. The book reads not as a collection of recipes but as a memoir written in flavour, told through beautifully photographed chapters that reflect every stage of her journey, from rural Free State childhood, through glittering fashion capitals, to her present life tending an extensive garden in Riebeek-Kasteel, where she shares her home with three dogs, three cats, and an ever-revolving table of guests.
What makes this book distinctly hers is the philosophy woven through every page. Isabella writes: “I have learnt that my love for strong, robust flavours is fine. And that I never have to use the term ‘sprig’ in any of my recipes, unless I really want to! Food has a language of its own. And it speaks to us in different dialects.” This isn’t pretension, it’s permission. Permission for one to trust their instincts, to make bold choices, to own their own style.
The Mushroom Risotto: A Recipe for Winter
As we approach the tail end of winter, we find ourselves drawn to the kind of food that warms from within. Isabella’s Mushroom Risotto (page 70) is precisely that, a recipe that speaks to the season with quiet authority.
Her original version featured a whole chicken placed atop the rice, with drippings infusing the dish with richness before being shredded for serving. But Isabella, true to her philosophy of choice and combination, reimagined it as a pure, delightful mushroom risotto. The version she shares combines porcini, shiitake, oyster and portabellini mushrooms (though, characteristically, she leaves the final choice in your hands).
The dish is deceptively simple: arborio rice cooked with fresh thyme, lemon, and butter, bound together with vegetable or chicken stock and a pour of dry white wine. The mushrooms, some dried and soaked, some fresh, nestle into the rice as it bakes for an hour at 180°C, their umami deepening with time. A grating of strong cheese (parmesan or mature cheddar, optional) finishes the plate, alongside a Saronsberg Sauvignon Blanc that cuts through the richness with precision.
Why This Matters Now
As we move through Women’s Month, her story feels particularly resonant. Isabella didn’t wait for permission. She didn’t follow a prescribed path. She opened her home, shared her table, and discovered that the most profound act of hospitality is simply to say: Here is what I make. Here is who I am. You are welcome.
Bella’s Kitchen: A South African Odyssey is that same invitation, bound in pages, ready to arrive on your table.
Isabella’s journey from fashion editor to award-winning author and restaurateur is more than a career pivot. It’s a testament to the courage required to listen to intuition, to walk toward uncertainty, to build something that reflects your true self.
Pair with: Saronsberg Sauvignon Blanc | Serves: 6–8
Season: End of winter, early spring or whenever you need warmth and intention on a plate.
Images: © Supplied
