Guests often ask us how we get our fresh produce here, in the middle of nowhere. We are tempted to answer, ‘as if by magic’, but the truth is we order the finest ingredients from Nairobi, fresh seafood from the coast, and Kenya’s famed beef from the north. But peskier products, like sumac and black quinoa, come from South Africa. After all, how could our guests survive without sumac and black quinoa?
But our best suppliers are neighbours and friends from the heart of Maasailand. A few times a week, farmer Joseph Oseko putters into camp on his small motorbike, laden with sacks of cabbages, kale, tomatoes, bananas, onions, watermelons and the biggest, most delicious avocados under the sun. How he fits it all on the back of his bike is nothing short of a miracle. At our Forest Barbecue, we serve Joseph’s avocados whole and guests not only devour them, but sneak them back to their tents to take to their next destination.
Maasailand is the land of milk and honey. Julius Mokita, another neighbour, works with a collective of Maasai beekeepers and honey producers from villages surrounding our lodge. They combine their 100 per cent-organic honey with a lovely smoky flavour, producing enough to supply lodges around the Mara, all delivered in five-litre buckets swinging on the handlebars of a motorbike. Maasai honey is the hero in two recipes in this book: a classical Kenyan cocktail, the Dawa, and our much-loved Maasai Honey Biscuits.
The whole Angama team is fuelled by Kenya’s famous chai – tea stewed with fresh cow’s milk and heaps of sugar – an acquired taste enjoyed by more and more of our guests. The mother of our storekeeper, Joshua, delivers fresh milk daily for 4 o’clock tea. That’s five litres every day, rain or shine, and Mama Joshua walks from her manyatta to the lodge. To prepare 25 litres of Kenyan chai, you need 15 litres unpasteurized milk, 10 litres water, 200g tea leaves and 2.5kg sugar. Pour the milk into a large pot, bring to the boil, add the water and bring back to the boil. Add the tea leaves and sugar and boil until the tea turns brown. Sieve into a very large kettle ready to serve.
Spicy Prawn Sushi Stack with Pickled Ginger & Carrot Slaw
Asparagus with Parmesan-Crusted Boiled Egg & Butter Sauce
Tiramisini with Coffee Ice Cream
Suspended in mid air
Could there be a more lovely setting for a pre-safari breakfast than on the edge of the Great Rift Valley? Guests watch hot air balloons floating dreamily by while enjoying a cappuccino brewed from Kenyan coffee beans.
A great view, warm service and delicious food – what could be better? Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served on the decks that wrap across the front of Angama’s guest areas. And if you look down into the reserve, 300 metres below, you will see graceful giraffe journeying across the open grasslands, a family of elephant slowly making their daily trek from the forests that surround us to the lush marshes below, and, of course, there is that family of buffalo, 100 strong, who on a good day might move from one side of the road to another. Look out, not up, and there are always raptors sailing past at eye level, almost close enough to touch.
But the food has to match the setting and we have chosen five of our best-loved dishes to share with you in this chapter. The Best Burger in the Mara is our guests’ favourite. Why is it the best? Probably because we are the only lodge that serves them every single day of the year. That’s how much our guests love them. Who would have thought?
GAZPACHO
SHOP IT
2 ½ cups diced cucumber
1 cup diced red pepper
2 cups diced ripe tomatoes
½ cup diced red onion
4 cloves garlic
2 cups tomato juice
⅓ cup olive oil
2 tsp sugar
2 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
PREPARE IT
Blend all the ingredients together and chill.
Garnish the soup with a generous blob of tapenade and a swirl of good olive oil.
Serves 1
OLIVE TAPENADE
SHOP IT
1 cup pitted black olives
2 Tbsp capers
2 cloves garlic
¼ tsp chilli flakes
½ cup fresh basil
½ cup fresh parsley
2 Tbsp olive oil
PREPARE IT
Blend all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use. Will keep for up to a week.
Chef Evans makes all our soups using a good vegetable stock. As he says, ‘We need to look after our vegetarian guests.’
SPICY PRAWN SUSHI STACK WITH PICKLED GINGER & CARROT SLAW
Shannon is Angama Mara’s regional director and is responsible for the smooth operation of our kitchens. Homesick for far-off Seattle and sushi, she introduced ‘The Stack’ to our lunch menu.
SPICY PRAWN SUSHI STACK
SHOP IT
1 cup sushi rice
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp salt
½ cup soy sauce
2 tsp honey
2 tsp fresh minced ginger
a small bunch of chives, chopped
¼ cup finely diced cucumber
4 Tbsp mayonnaise
1