Michelin starred chef Eric Chavot cooks for Chris Osburn in one of the world’s top safari destinations, Earth Lodge.
The streets of Mayfair may seem a world away from the remote South African bush, but for discerning gourmet travellers the metaphorical – if not physical – distance between the two has just become smaller. A new initiative at Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve invites some of the world’s top chefs into the kitchen at the area’s renowned Earth Lodge. The partnership was launched in February, with Michelin-starred Eric Chavot making the inaugural visit, taking a week-long break from his eponymous Mayfair brasserie (at The Westbury on Conduit Street) to share his experience with the cooks at Earth Lodge.
Al fresco dining is a big thing at Earth Lodge, with the kitchen serving excellent, fresh local produce such as ripe papaya and figs preserved in honey (the lodge also has an impressive wine cellar for somewhere this far from civilisation). Nevertheless, it can hardly be expected to keep abreast of what’s on-trend with fashionable restaurants across the globe, which is where the chef partnership comes in. Chavot’s objective was to bring some Mayfair flair to the African bush – to “pimp” rather than overhaul the menu, to use his own words.
Read my complete article at City AM.
