We hear there are to be some new additions to menus for 2023, please could you give us a little more detail.
In our Elewana Kitchens we are constantly evolving and developing, and we have quite a few additions planned for next year.
In Tanzania, we are adding an array of new dishes to our Tarangire Treetops menu and revamping the Manor food experience.
In addition to these, we have all sorts up our sleeves at Kilindi including offering oceanside lunch dining from our new rustic beach kitchen.
Kenya is in the process of incorporating a Swahili inspired dish to all of our dinner menus which will give our guests a traditional taste of Africa.
Also in the pipeline are a few new 'under the stars' dining venues, which will incorporate a lot more live fire cooking.
You take a strong standpoint on serving environmentally conscience food, how will this evolve moving forward
We are working closely with suppliers and our procurement teams to make decisions with the future wellbeing of our planet and ourselves in the forefront of our minds.
We are also ensuring we align our brand with our values by supporting the smaller farmers and choosing products that don’t use hormones, antibiotics and pesticides, even if it comes with a cost.
Can you give us some more details on how you will continue to keep the produce local
I spend a lot of time researching new products that are East African grown. Often companies and chefs fall back on imports due to lack of knowledge or don’t want to put the effort into finding products that are local.
East Africa is a Garden of Eden, and we have an ever growing list of products that are unique to this part of the world. Our chef teams take great pride in seeking these out, playing and inventing dishes with them and then adding them to our menus for all to enjoy something they might never have tried before.
Just recently we added a Sorghum Wild Mushroom Risotto to our menu, and it really has become my favourite risotto of all time.
Tell us a little about your training plan for next year
I have a close relationship with my whole chef team, and we have put together development plans for each one of our staff members. I believe in growing our kitchen members from within and supporting our surrounding communities with work opportunities.
I also have planned fun cook offs, team building and foodie workshops as well as a cross training program that affords our chefs great self-development and learning possibilities.
What are you most excited about for 2023
The honest truth is I get excited about new crockery, this is one of my greatest joys, opening a new box of beautiful plates and bowls I get to play around with and design a dish to suit them.
I am also so looking forward to is our new African Dining experiences, fire-cooking for me is one of the best ways to impart flavour into foods and I'm so keen to test the boundaries with some new concepts and ideas.
