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Food has a way of carrying memory.
Sometimes it appears in the smallest moments; the smell of something cooking in the morning, the comfort of a familiar dish or the rhythm of preparing food the way it has been made for generations.
For me, one of those memories is sorghum porridge; warm, earthy, and quietly nourishing, the kind of simple food that appeared at the table again and again growing up.
Everyone has something like that: an ingredient or dish that feels ordinary at the time, but later becomes a small thread connecting us to where we come from.
Many of those foods were humble indigenous ingredients, cooked the same way they had been for generations; foods that carried culture, knowledge and tradition long before I understood their significance.
Hi, I’m Livhuwani Ravele
Food storyteller, food photographer & recipe developer
It’s funny how the simplest foods stay with us. Not because they were elaborate, but because they were constant, woven into mornings, conversations, and the rituals of a home.
Long before I began take photos and writing about food, those kitchen moments taught me something important: food is never just food. It carries memory, culture and the stories of the people who cook it.
Years later, after spending much of my life living in the UK, I realised those early food memories had quietly shaped the way I see ingredients and the way I tell stories about food.
Today I work as a recipe developer, food writer, and a food photographer, exploring the connection between ingredients, culture and everyday cooking.
Through recipes, food photography and storytelling, my work celebrates thoughtful food, the kind rooted in real ingredients, seasonal cooking and the traditions that shape our kitchens.
editorial & brand collaborations
Past Projects
Alongside my blog, I have collaborated with a range of food brands and publications, creating recipes, food photography, and editorial storytelling. My writing has appeared on platforms such as Dineplan where I explored indigenous ingredients, food traditions, and the cultural stories that shape the way we cook.
I’ve also worked with brands including: Waitrose & Partners | Amy’s Kitchen | Quorn | Teapigs | Graze Snacks | Glorious Soup | Baxters Food Group | The Vegan Society.
Most recently, I worked on a cookbook published by Penguin Random House under the Prestel imprint (2026), where I served as art director, food stylist and a food photographer.
Food stories are better when told Together
I work with food brands, chefs and publishers to create recipes, photography, and editorial storytelling that bring ingredients and food culture to life. If you’re looking to collaborate on a campaign, cookbook, or creative project, I’d love to hear from you.
… and if you are curious foodie & cook
A love letter to real food
In 2019, I felt a pull to start creating and sharing the kind of food I love to cook: simple, nourishing meals made with good, honest ingredients. The kind of food that tastes like home and feels good in your body. In many ways, this space began as a little love letter to real food. Around here, you’ll find recipes made with wholesome ingredients. No weird additives, no ultra-processed this-or-that just food that tastes like home, hugs you from the inside, and might even make you do a little happy dance in your kitchen.
I love cooking with simple things you can recognise and pronounce, because I believe real food, made with care, always tastes better. And over time, that love for simple ingredients led me somewhere unexpected back to the ingredients I had grown up with.
Indigenous African ingredients
In 2022, I had what I can only describe as an ingredient awakening.
Suddenly, the everyday ingredients I grew up with — the ones I had seen a thousand times in my mother’s and grandmother’s kitchens — started to catch my eye in a completely new way. I realised how much beauty, history, and flavour I had been taking for granted. Since then, I’ve been learning, experimenting, and falling in love again with the flavours of home.
Here you’ll find indigenous African ingredients and African-inspired recipes woven naturally into everyday cooking — not in a fancy or complicated way, but as part of simple, beautiful food.
Quick Fun Facts
New Hobby
Gardening, still figuring out which plants like me back!
Drink order
Virgin colada if it’s sunny, chai latte if it’s not.
Couldn’t live without
Jesus. Honestly, I’d be so lost without Him.
NOT A FAN OF
Super early mornings… unless it’s sunrise breakfast on the beach (but even then… maybe 9am?)
My guilty pleasure
Apple crumble 🍏 (shhh… don’t tell my dentist )
so over it
Matcha 🍵 we had a moment… we’re done now!
I’d rather be
In the sun, give me warmth over woolly socks any day.
Favourite thing to shoot
That moment when the sauce glistens just right!
