An unexpected byproduct from my partnership in The Elephant Café landed on the farm — and, more importantly, in my vegetable garden — last month. We collected lorry loads of elephant poop so old and decomposed, it’s been known in the past to self-combust in the searing months before the rainy season.
The pounds I gained on our foodie holiday in Ireland and England disappeared fast as a result of the speed with which I hit the ground running on my return to Livingstone. Before leaving, I’d agreed with Safari Par Excellence‘s management to serve our first (test) meal on June 16.
When The Cook’s Cook magazine in the United States asked me to contribute a feature story to its GREAT OUTDOORS issue, I was unaware then that this commission — one that had followed many before it — would take me down a path to a brand new foodie adventure.
Last week I spent the better part of a day learning new plating techniques at one of London’s leading specialist party planners, Blue Strawberry/Table Talk. Owned in part by Molly Ronan, the sister of a close friend, I was given access to the company’s busy kitchen to observe and ask questions of the chefs who were plating food for a tasting at lunchtime.
Chris and I have left the farm to travel to Ireland and England for a much-needed break. We’ll be eating our way around both countries, gathering inspiration as we travel from place to place. In the meantime, here is an early post of mine which illustrates the food connection between my use of wild edibles and elephants.
I’ve just taken delivery of the foodie’s equivalent of a new BMW i8. Last week I committed to a joint venture with The Explorer Club Africa in The Elephant Café, a new restaurant built on a deck in the Zambezi River, set among a resident herd of orphaned and rescued elephants.
