Press Release: Good Eats on the Equator
January 2007
The equator – that tropical ribbon that encircles the globe - passes through many different countries, few of which are traditionally associated with great gastronomy. This is now in the process of changing.
In Africa the equatorial line crosses through Kenya, Somalia, the two Congos and Gabon. It also passes through Uganda. Uganda, birthplace of coffee, land of cocoa, vanilla, sugar cane and highland tea. Home to the elusive mountain gorilla and over 1,000 species of birds. And now Uganda is currently home to Michelin-starred chef Dan Evans.
In his role of head chef at the new Emin Pasha Hotel, Dan creates an imaginative menu which changes daily. Peruse the dinner menu and you will find gems like
- pan seared Lake Victoria tilapia with rhubarb and ginger cream,
- tartlet of local smoked Nile perch,
- slow roasted suckling pig with blue lentils,
- tataki of beef fillet,
- giant Malindi prawns flown in from the coast that day,
And deserts that celebrate the tropical soil:
- crème brulee with local organic vanilla,
- passionfruit pavlova,
- aAnd the coffee is local- of course – from various smallholder farmers, roasted and ground that day.
Every month, Chef Dan climbs aboard a small single engine plan and does a stint as group chef for the Uganda Safari Company who own a collection of small safari lodges located in the most pristine areas of wilderness – Apoka Lodge, on the border of Sudan, which is about as remote as you can get, and Semliki Lodge in Western Uganda, overlooking the Blue Mountains of the Congo, and soon, Clouds, set high up on a ridge, overlooking the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, refuge to most of the world’s remaining Mountain Gorilla . In his coolbox he might have live crab from the Kenyan coast, aged Ankole beef fillet (lower in fat than standard beef) foie gras from South Africa, and truffles from France. Instead of the strains of Oscar Peterson or Bebel Gilberto, guests in the bush dine to the musical accompaniment of nocturnal Africa: roaring lions, chirping crickets, snorting buffalo…or blessed silence.
Dan Evans is British and earned a Michelin star while running the kitchen at Odette’s in London. He was also the proprietor of one of England’s first gastro-pubs, the Anglesea Arms in Notting Hill. He left the UK for Capetown several years ago and found himself drawn back to East Africa where he had worked in his early twenties. The Emin Pasha Hotel and the Uganda Safari Company are owned by husband and wife team Jonathan and Pamela Wright. In the past ten years they have helped to nurture Uganda’s tourism industry by bringing quality, service and comfort to an otherwise Wild Place.
For more information:
Pamela Wright: periscope@infocom.co.ug
