I’m Benike Palfi, and I’m the founder of I Love Foodies.

I’ve always loved food. I’ve always enjoyed eating out. Some of my fondest memories growing up involve food – five-star buffets with my mom, playing “I Spy” while waiting for Chinese takeaways with my dad, learning how to use chopsticks with a straw somewhere in Mauritius, spending hours in the kitchen with my mom on Christmas morning, and thinking up a world of delicious meals to cook with my dad.

While my friends spent their teenage years going out to meet new people, I spent my years going along to see what restaurant dishes I could try. Moving overseas after I finished school, my shopping experiences were marked by treating myself to something food-wise I’d never tried before. At university, one of my most fun projects was trying every single restaurant and take-away spot on campus.

The memories are endless.

Flash-forward to 2014, the year I first began thinking about starting what would become I Love Foodies. I was living in Cape Town, South Africa, and had just completed my graduate degree in English Language & Literature.

The world was new and scary and exciting. Much had changed – this was the first time in my life I wasn’t studying in one form or another, and it was the first time I decided to pursue acting, my first love, full-time.

But one thing hadn’t changed: I still loved food.

At this point, I was also exploring the world of writing away from the academic world I’ve become so comfortable with and started writing for a US-based digimag headed up by Billion Dollar Boy and its co-founder, James Bell, now a close friend.

After trying out various genres of colloquial writing, I finally decided I really ought to write about restaurants and all my experiences. My partner at the time and I were dining out a few times a week, and all I needed was the platform to share.

Add in that finances were tight, as they always seem to be, and I was constantly searching for the next good restaurant deal. But none of the information Google provided me with seemed organised enough for me. So, in addition to writing reviews on all my favourite restaurants, I also wanted to provide information – restaurant listings, specials, and all the best deals so that others could find the information I was constantly searching for.

James, who had become my mentor at this point, loved the idea and helped me get it all started. Many, many, many months later – in May 2015 – I finally clicked that “publish” button, and I Love Foodies was born.

The original tagline: I Love Foodies. Bringing you the coolest Cape Town restaurants, specials, and reviews. Because eating out is just more fun.

Now, that tagline isn’t entirely relevant anymore.

From its conception as the go-to guide on Cape Town restaurants, the site evolved and began featuring a world of recipes, competitions, and news.

I moved to London, expanded operations, and began working with a team of writers based in Cape Town, Johannesburg, London, and New York City.

That was the heyday of I Love Foodies.

At some point, this beautiful page grew too big for me to manage. Instead of closing it down, as I had initially intended, I scaled it back down again to its very core – high-quality restaurant reviews that are fuelled by honesty and integrity. Because eating out is still just more fun.

I Love Foodies Review Policy 

We are not paid to write restaurant reviews and won’t paint a pretty picture just because someone told us to. But, we will always highlight the positives and find ways that a restaurant or cafe stands out. We want to share what’s good in this world. 

If you’re looking for a review site that brings people and places down, then this is not it. If you have nothing nice to say, why say it at all?

This does not mean we don’t have bad experiences – we do. But instead of complaining to the world, we prefer to take a proactive approach and provide constructive criticism directly to the restaurant. In this way, we can support the restaurant industry and give them direct feedback to better themselves and their offering. Usually, we go back to review the restaurant in question again after they’ve had some time to readjust.