Chakula - Food

While my cousin is running night marathons in Dubai and a number of my friends have just completed the Knysna marathon and half marathon I am fighting to maintain my 4km, 4 times a week run rate. This is imperative, as I have to fit into a Twin Otter 12 seater aeroplane if I want to go to Zanzi with my sisters....because the food here is delicious and plentiful!

For Chefs catering for up to 80 people per meal, stuck in the middle of nowhere, with only a weekly delivery of food from Nairobi and a big shamba (vege garden) they manage to whip up the most fabulous meals, for every type of dietary requirement. That said a 7 day menu of hotel food can for your average resident become somewhat tiresome, and there are often days that I'd kill for a tuna salad or grilled chicken breasts and brown rice.

We have been known to attempt to cook the odd meal at home (no this doesn't include getting supper delivered to home and claiming it as home cooked), but a gas cooker (we have an unreliable stove), the lack of woolies...or even shoprite and chefs having to interpret ones shopping list makes for an interesting concoction. So more often than not we eat at the lodge or in the canteen.

The 7 day rotation menu means I have had the opportunity to sample a number of dishes more than once. It is however not the carrot and ginger soup, the couscous encrusted chicken or the chocolate press that have made my favourites list, but a few other morsels, all of the dangerously more-ish and fattening varieties.

• Chiapati - a roti type of wrap roll, best with anything and everything


• Tomatoe Ginger Jam - made specifically for the 5 star camp up the road, absolutely addictive (the chef, named Evans taught me how to make it - yes apron and all, so that we could keep a jar in our fridge), when lacking proper food to eat it with rice cakes or popcorn are a suitable substitute


• Banana chips - the sole reason for me going to the bar in the evening while n cohorts with guests. They look like banana chips, they are banana chips, but they taste like very crispy, salted potato chips!


• Mdazi - sugarless doughnut snacky things. Approximately once a month the clinical officer, known as the Docoteri, organises a get together for the staff, where everyone does some exercise, and a couple of people chat about motivational things, keeping healthy and having goals and determination. Although its a fun afternoon, it is during everyones down time, thus a bit of food and tea is used to lure people to the gathering. This is where I discovered Mdazi.


• Muesli - the recipe used to make homemade muesli here kicks natures sources a*s, its delicious!


• Hot chocolate - finally Charles one of the barmen makes a hot chocolate to rival hot chocolate on the Austrian ski slopes

So no, I am not starving...but the heathrow injection may happen a couple of months too early.