Tanzanian Cuisine
Think that the meals in Tanzania are boring and only consist of the national dish Ugali? Think again!
Today is all about the fantastic cuisine in the Bilila Lodge Kempinski. At my stay in the Lodge I enjoyed many tasty treats. They all were connected with African meals, but had a special twist to them. Mozambique chicken & coconut curry, local Arusha Beef Fillet with a biltong & blue cheese sauce, red bush-smoked Nile Perch, tea infused Bavarian cream, stuffed chicken supreme with shallot jus, … every item tastes absolutely fresh and is excellently spiced. And if you enjoy these meals with the view over the National Park and a good bottle of African wine from the well-assorted wine cellar – life couldn’t be better!
The story of the Green Bean
The Chef, Eduan Naude does a most convincing job of creating these fantastic meals. Even if sometimes things get, well . . . challenging! Logistics in the middle of the Serengeti can be difficult to master, even for the most basic things.
So enjoy this movie about a little bit of an unusual day in the life of the Bilila Lodges Chef and the famous green beans!
The Mara Smallholder Horticultural Project (MSHP)
The friendly people we met in the video are part of the MSHP. The project was initiated in 2002 with the aim of improving the living standards of the local farmers. Many of the people living around the National Park used to hunt in the Serengeti. But with the declaration that the Serengeti was to become a National Park, hunting became illegal and so people were forced to search for an alternate income. Most of them had only a little experience with (professional) farming.
The solution was to build a community, with many of the farms participating. Project coordinators built up the farms and empowered the farmers over a certain time to operate the farm independently. The crops from the farms are sold through the project network – so that even small farms can participate in larger markets.
The Bilila Lodge Kempinski is one of the purchasers of the fresh goods – in this case in the Bunda region (Balimi network). Of course, there are still a lot of challenges (road infrastructure, availability of market information, etc.), but it is good to see this sort of thing developing. And let me say this: getting to know the story behind my meals made them taste even better!
Special
The letter for today is:
01
The famous green beans
02
Red bush smoked Nile Perch
03
Deep fried brie
04
Detail of Mozambique chicken
05
Mozambique chicken & coconut curry
06
Local Arusha Beef Fillet with a biltong & blue cheese sauce
07
Tea infused Bavarian cream
08
Deep fried chocolate & nut Ganesh
09
Live cooking area
10
Detail of buffet
Comments
Wow! Oh Wow!
Talk about first-class film making. Jan, I don’t know what your real job is, but you should have been a film-maker. This was truly excellent work and the actors (?) must have cost a small fortune . . . especially the chef. Is he also a rallye-driver?
And if you looking for those elusive green beans, why, they are all in the local supermarket here at home!
Great film, fantastic people, and as the French Michelin Good Food Guide would say: “Vaut la visite” or “well-worth the visit”. Now, about the Grand Prize Draw . . . is there any way I can get that winning ticket?.
WOW, What can I say.
Would love to come and have a taste of those beans. Well done Chef Eduan. The food is looking good and very tasty.
Excellent. Keep up with the good work over there in Africa.
This is excellent! I am enjoying the videos and write-ups each day. It makes me long to be there; what a paradise! Enjoy!
Fantastic, well done!!!!
Ed you are a super star. Gordan Ramsay should take a few lessons from you. It is great that the you are working so closely with the locals.
Can not wait to try some of your delights.
Karen
PS what is with the longer ziff? Ed you would look so more handsome without it and younger.
Excellent video, and the photos are making me quite hungry!
WELL DONE EDUAN…..THE VIDEO IS GREAT AND EVERYTHING ELSE….ITS GREAT TOO SEE YOU GET ALONG SO WELL WITH ALL THE STAFF AND LOCAL PEOPLE…. YOUVE OUT DONE YOURSELF AS ALWAYS…. AND THE FOOD LOOKS GREAT……
ONLY ONE PROBLEM…..I HAVE TO BE THEIR TOO TASTE IT……
COME ON WHAT ELSE MUST I SAY TOO WIN EVERYONE OVER ON THAT SIDE TO WIN THE PRIZE .
KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK….
LOTS OF LOVE FROM A MOTHER WHO ALSO HAS A GREAT CHEF ON THAT SIDE. AND WOULD LOVE TOO COME THEIR
JOAN
SOUTH AFRICA
I like those food in pic but Ugali is the best
Excellent, Chef!! Hungry for more…
Fantastic! seeing more and more about the Bilila Lodge really has me planning my trip. This looks absolutely amazing! Well done, fabulous pictures
Madre Mia - I am hungy! That looks divine!
Bonjour,
Exellent Job,
When i will come back home iwill visite your lodge and i hope to eat the BEANS na Nyama!!
Bon Travalle CHEF EDUAN
Bien cordialement,
Stephen R.Mbwambo , PARIS FRANCE
yummy! i love foods, really God created human beings in a very special ways and each and everyone have their gift in cooking and preparing specialty. God bless you
Getting hungry….
[...] Day 14 | Cuisine in the Bilila Lodge Kempinski [...]
Wow
I see where you dissapeared to now!
Looks amazing Eduan!
Well done!
En as jy moeg is vir kook, kan jy altyd acting probeer..!