Ben-Erik van Wyk was born on 27 December 1956 in Bellville, South Africa.

[19][20][21][22] Through 600 vibrant photographs of more than 120 distinct culinary herbs, spices, and flavourings that Van Wyk has collected from the distant reaches; his books[23] transport us back to the earliest uses of spices by ancient civilisations and lead us on a journey of discovery from Ethiopia to China.

[24][25][26] Van Wyk is a member of several organizations, including the Aloe Council of South Africa (Chair), the American Society of Plant Taxonomists, the Botanical Society of America, the Indigenous Plant Use Forum (Chair since 1996),[27] the Association for African Medicinal Plant Standards, Briza Publications CC, and the Presidential Task Team on African Traditional Medicine.

[31] Van Wyk has received several awards, including the Schlich Medal in 1980, the FRD President's Award in 1991, the Havenga prize for Biology from the South African Academy of Science and Art in 2006, the Silver Medal from the South African Association of Botanists in 2007,[32] and the Medal of Honor from the Faculty of Natural Science and Technology of the South African Academy of Science and Art in 2011.

His books and commentary[33][34] have been published in Afrikaans, German, Polish and Korean, in addition to the English-language editions.