In my last blog I had a fascinating chat with Jonathan Groves, the executive chef at the wonderful Ngala Lodge Restaurant (on Atlantic Boulevard between Figara and Bakau). He’s kindly shared with us his recipe for this delicious Coconut créme brûlée which Ngala has featured on the menu since October. It’s been a great hit with the guests. Mind you, I’ve never tasted anything at this restaurant that hasn’t been a huge hit with me!
photograph courtesy of Ngala Lodge
Coconut Créme Brulee
Ingredients: serves 6
8 Egg yolks
30g sugar
1 tin coconut milk (400ml)
100g creamed coconut
400g cream
4 large bananas
sesame seeds and brown sugar to sprinkle on top
sprig of mint to garnish
1. Pre-heat the oven to 150° C (or gas mark 2)
2. Slowly reduce the coconut milk and the creamed coconut to approx 250g
3. Then add approx 400g cream to make a total 650g
4. Heat slowly until JUST boiling & then remove from heat
5. Whisk the egg yolks and the sugar untill thick and pale yellow and double in quantity
6. Whisk the coconut and cream mixture into the egg & sugar mixture
7. Place in 6 large ramekins
8. Bake in bain maire for 30-40 mins until just cooked – the middle should still have a wobble when shaken gently
TO SERVE
9. Sprinkle with sesame seeds
10. Cover in a layer of slice of banana
11. Sprinkle with Brown sugar
12. Warm in the oven
13. Glaze sugar until brown
14. Top with a sprig of mint
and in true Ngala style serve on a banana leaf and a lemon grass leaf. Enjoy!
As a specialist tour operator with an on-going commitment to sustainable tourism we seek wherever we can to counter the effect our industry has upon the environment. A Carbon Offset Scheme seemed the next logical step in this commitment and with the help of TICOS (the Tourism Industry Carbon Offset Service), we began a scheme in 2007. I travelled to The Gambia in November with industry expert Dick Sisman to monitor how work is progressing with our carbon offset schemes.
Tree planting in action!
On our first day, we were picked up by our forester Lamin Kinteh and set off to visit our community tree planting projects. The first, Pirang, was a small village, about 45 minutes from the main tourist area and chosen for its easy access to the river water. This was our newest and smallest project, planted in 2009 and I was very interested to see the growth of the seedlings. We walked through scrubland, past local compounds and towering termite mounds until we reached our area of gmalina trees. It was fantastic to see the growth after only two years, some were about 18ft high and were filling out nicely – a sight you would never expect in the UK!
Lamin Kinteh among the trees
We drove to our next project, one of the first areas where trees were planted back in 2007. Set in the small village of Sifoe, the trees are a mix of gmalina and cashew. Cashew fruits and nuts can be harvested and the trees provide the perfect home for native bees. As we arrived, we were met by a number of smiling locals, telling stories of their honey production and cashew nut crops and how the profits were helping to put local children through school. The trees were so established and appreciated by the locals and were giving so much more than simply carbon benefits.
After a spot of lunch on the coast, we set off on what can only be described as off-roading to our largest project area. This was a slightly different project to the others. On our way, Lamin was explaining the background behind the project, that the trees had been planted as a buffer zone for the Abuko nature reserve. In the past, locals had destroyed much of the nature reserve in their search for wood for cooking or building. The aim of the buffer zone is to surround the damaged areas so that they can regrow to their natural glory. Some of the trees here have grown to an amazing 25 ft high and are now producing a natural fence around some of the reserve. The wildlife is already returning to the reserve and new seedlings are sprouting in the scrubland. It was wonderful to see the positive reforestation.
A Mayon Stove in action
On the next day, we were met by our Mayan Turbo stove project manager, Mama. We have been funding the community stove project for two years. Most of our stoves had been distributed on the North Bank of the River Gambia, but they have now started becoming available on the south bank. Mama took us to a coastal village called Sanyang, where a number of stoves were already in use. When we arrived we were met by nearly the whole community coming to see what was going on. As it had just been the Muslim festival of Tobaski, all of the women were in their finest dresses and the array of colours was fantastic. I was delighted when the Gambian women started to bring out rice, lamb and vegetables – they were cooking lunch and I was invited to the feast! Burning by-products such as rice husks and peanut shells, the stoves are virtually free to use and heat up very quickly. Whilst some women were making Benachin, a spicy rice dish, others were talking to me about the benefits of the stoves compared with traditional wood burners. They were explaining that previously to collect firewood, they would need to walk nearly 14km or buy expensive bundles of imported wood. By using our turbo stoves, the women could burn waste products, thus saving energy, money and the local forests. A further benefit is that the turbo stoves produce far less smoke compared to traditional wood burning stoves.
Bon appetit!
As the trip came to its end, I was really amazed by how well both projects are progressing. We are achieving our carbon reduction goals and improving the quality of life for many locals. Having had such a wonderful insight into these worthwhile projects, I am keen to encourage staff and customers to continue to reach our long-term goals.
Have you ever cooked for 900 people for a wedding and have 1,500 turn up! No, unsurprisingly, me neither. Jonathan Groves, the superb chef at Ngala Lodge has. Last month, while staying at this beautiful boutique hotel in The Gambia, West Africa, I was lucky enough to interview him and find out more about his career, which has taken him to many different countries around the world, and about the pros and cons of working in Africa.
Kathryn: Have you always wanted to be a chef from a young age?
Jonathan: When I was 16, between ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels, I worked 6 weeks in a hotel and then they asked me back every holiday. Then one day, while I was studying ‘A’ levels to go and do hotel management, the executive chef called me into his office “So you’re going to do hotel management are you?” “Yes?” “ Look at that idiot over there in the pin-striped suit…. I can see you have a lot of talent as a chef. Think about it?” So I did but I’d never thought of it as a career before.
Having trained at Westminster college, while working five days a week at Charing Cross Hotel, London (where there are over 50 chefs and the kitchen is 1½ km long) Jonathan got his first job abroad in the early 80s.
Jonathan: I had just bought a house and the mortgage rate went up from 4% to 14%. I was getting further and further into debt so I said to the wife “What shall we do? We’re going to have to do something?” I managed to get a job in Libya through an agency for one year. 18 of us went out to open two hotels and a restaurant, only two of us stayed the year. I knew I had to stay as agents wouldn’t touch you again if you hadn’t completed the first placement.
Jonathan then worked at the Barbican in London where he did after-show dinners for the likes of Princess Margaret, but after a couple of years he got itchy feet and applied for a job in Jordan, working there for the next three years.
Kathryn: What type of food did you cook?
Jonathan: European and international food. We did a lot of banquets , weddings and so on. Usually with Arabic starters and the main something European.
Kathryn: So you had the opportunity to pick up influences from Jordan and presumably Libya before that?
Jonathan: Not so much Libya. It was very new to the tourist market then. The hotels were actually opened for an African conference that never actually happened. Jordan was nice. The tradition is to get married after Ramadan so for 3 months after Ramadan you have wedding after wedding every single night with bookings for maybe 800 or 900 guests invited but then more would turn up and it’s an insult to turn anybody away. The poor bride and groom’s family would invite 900 guests and 1,500 people turn up. They can’t say no, but you get the hang of it.
Kathryn: It must have been quite a shock the first time though.
Jonathan: It was, although obviously I was working with other people. I was just a sous chef, a number 2 chef.
After that I spent a year in Paris, that was a good influence.
Kathryn: When did you first come to The Gambia?
Jonathan: In the mid 80s to the Atlantic Hotel. That was through an agent. A hotel would say they are looking for a chef and the agents would look for chefs with suitable experience and put 3 or 4 forward. It was my first senior chefs job, just coming up to thirty. Stayed there for 3 years. Quite an eye opener. It was a big, big challenge. In London and Paris you can pick up the phone and get everything straight away. The problem here, and even more so now, is availability, especially with fish. The sea is so over fished by big trawlers, most of the produce is going abroad. Prices are going up, crazy prices. Even between this season and last season the prices have gone up 1 and ½ times.
Kathryn: It must be hard for the locals.
Jonathan: Very hard for the locals. In September to the beginning of November you couldn’t get fish, at all. Lobsters are hard to get . Same with tiger prawns, I got some just over a week ago but since then I’ve not been able to get any.
Tanji fishing village
Kathryn: The locals were telling me just this morning, at Tanji fish market, that they are having to go out further and further to fish and presumably that is only going to get worse and they depend on it for their livelihood.
Jonathan: Yes, even the local bongo fish is getting quite scarce now.
Jonathan then went back to France followed by 6 years at a casino in Knightsbridge.
Kathryn: What was it like working there?
Jonathan: Very good. They had a totally revamped kitchen, most equipped kitchen I ever worked in. The guests didn’t pay in the restaurant, they paid downstairs on the tables. You had to be invited to the restaurant, the big players, very exclusive. Casino is big business. I was working with a Lebanese and some French chefs. The kitchen was small but produced top of the range quality food. You had to be really good chef. Everything was made to order. A lot of things were off the menu. Quite exciting.
In 1995 Jonathan was head-hunted by the general manager from Senegambia Hotel in The Gambia and he worked there for the next 6 years. Jobs in Abu Dhabi and Dublin followed but then the stress became too much. He felt burnt out and gave up catering and sold motorbikes. After 4 years he started to miss the hype and excitement of being a chef.
Kathryn: What about the heat in The Gambia, it’s hot enough here anyway, let alone in the kitchen?
Jonathan: You get used to it! Problem here is the non-availability of items and equipment. The power surges damages the fridges and freezers and so on. They breakdown and you can’t say to people “You can’t have dinner tonight.” You have to get it out somehow but at the end of the day, when you have a good night, it is a buzz! You don’t do it for the money but for the buzz and excitement. For me, if it’s someone I care about, say if it’s their birthday, I’d rather spend a day shopping and a day cooking and invite their friends then go and buy a present. When you see the pleasure on their face and their enjoyment, it is a buzz, it’s like a drug.
Kathryn: The food here is wonderful and so beautifully presented.
Jonathan: I don’t go for over complicated, I try to keep it simple. If you’ve got something beautiful, like the fish you have here, you don’t want to spoil it with an over complicated sauces.
Kathryn: How many do you have working in the kitchen here at Ngala Lodge.
Jonathan: 10 cooks, you have to find people’s strong points. You have to find what actually motivates them. It’s quite hard sometimes. Then again, a guy who used to work with me at Coconut Residence I got to work down here. I wanted a sous chef but no one wanted to take responsibility. I always thought he was a bit laid back, a bit casual and then in August I said “I’m going on leave, you’ve got the chance to prove yourself now. You’ve got 6 weeks to prove yourself.” And he really stepped up. I was in Australia and we had email contact. He asked me this and he asked me that. We were quite busy and he really came through.
There was another guy, a cleaner in Senegambia. He came to me one day and asked if he could have a chance. “Yeh, Ok. It’s hard. I’ll push you. It won’t be easy. I’ll really push you.”
So he came to work in the kitchen. He was very quiet. He came to work early in the morning and left late at night. He never complained about the hours. Never asked about more money or whatever. After I left Senegambia I heard he was promoted up to number three chef. Then the hotel laid him off for the rainy season. The chef from the Sheraton asked him to come over and help for busy functions and he ended up being their number three chef. The number two chef left and went to work in Dubai. The number one chef , who was Algerian, went back to Algeria for three months. So he ended up running the kitchen on his own. I heard he’s doing really well. For me that’s a great sense of achievement. That he’s actually done something. It’s the same with the sous chef at the Atlantic. He took over from me in 91 and he’s the chef there now. He normally goes to the States for the rainy season and does the high season back here. There’s a few guys around that really have it.
Kathryn: Although you’ve worked in many different places you keep returning to The Gambia.
Jonathan: I fell in love with The Gambia when I first came here. I bought a piece of land in ‘91 and did something I’ve always wanted to do. I designed and built my own house. No architect involved. It’s pretty different. I had it open, the year before last, for a year as a restaurant. The theme was you come to my house to eat. You don’t come to a restaurant. And at the centre of the house is the kitchen. Literally right in the centre. I wasn’t going for the tourist market, I was going for the local market here. Only word of mouth. No walk ins, only bookings. It really took off but then we went into the rainy season. The rains were pretty bad. I got a job in Sweden for 12 weeks. My son lives in Norway so it was a good chance to pop over and see him. I was supposed to go for 12 weeks but stayed for 4 ½ months. When I came back I had big problems with the roof. In the meantime, I asked around and Peter asked me to come and work here. So I agreed to work here for 4 months until the last flight back to Sweden for the summer. So here I am.
If you are interested in cuisine in The Gambia there will be more posts on this coming soon including the wonderful day I spent learning to cook the traditional Wolof dish, fish benechin, and a review of a great new Gambian cook book where I’ll be selecting and sharing my favourite recipe with you.
We have a guest post from Jonathan Tullett for you today. Jonathan recently visited The Gambia with his partner Rae, and they had a great experience at the eco-retreat at Sandele. I shall leave you in Jonathan’s capable hands…
I haven’t properly celebrated my birthday since 2000. This year, as far as I was concerned, wasn’t to be any different. Rae, however, had other plans.
Having raised the idea of being in Miami for the weekend after my birthday, we quickly settled on spending an entire week in The Gambia, at an eco-resort called Sandele (which roughly translated means, ‘now be still’).
Months passed, and I found myself getting more and more excited about actually doing something on the month-day of my birth. I’d trained myself for such a long time not to feel that kind of excitement that it was unnerving to experience feelings like this. Coupled with the trip, Rae had also planned a few activities for us for the occasion.
Landing in The Gambia to 30 degrees heat in November was nothing short of amazing. Unzipping the legs on my trousers, we quickly found the private taxi which was to take us to the retreat. The journey, though told would take about an hour, seemed far shorter; twenty minutes, if that. This is one country where air-con is a must for transport!
The retreat itself is beautiful. Run by a husband and wife team, Maurice and Geri, it’s been built in conjunction with the local village of Kartong and over 90% of the staff are from the village itself. Leasing the land for 25 years, once the time is up, the couple will hand over the retreat and the running of it to the locals; quite a legacy!
After being greeted with a local drink made from the crushed fruits of an indigenous tree, we were taken to the hut which would be our home for the following eight days.
Sandele Bay Eco Retreat. Image by Jonathan Tullett
The picture, right, doesn’t do it justice; the magnitude of the building isn’t apparent. The bedroom, which has the domed ceiling reaching thirty feet up, held a sofa, table and chairs, and a huge four-poster bed. With windows all around, and a short hallway leading to the bathroom (complete with their famous composting toilets!), it was beautiful; far more so than we’d expected. Just outside the back door, shared with the neighbouring lodge, was a plunge pool; refreshingly cool, and just the right distance from the sun loungers and shade umbrella.
Giving me prior warning – knowing that sometimes surprises don’t work well with me – Rae said that there was an excursion planned on the Thursday – my birthday – and another activity which would be done the following day. I was intrigued. Despite the offer, I decided against being told exactly what was planned; I appreciated the thought behind the offer though, Rae knows me well…
Thursday morning I awoke, bleary eyed, and was promptly presented with three gifts, and a card. The card said she hoped the experiences would remain with me for a long time. Curious…
The first gift was a box of my all-time favourite Turkish delight. A small square box of cubes of loveliness. The common problem with your run-of-the-mill Turkish Delight is it’s cut into cubes far too big. This results in an inconsistent texture, firmness and varying flavour; it really can be a bit hit and miss whether you’ll get a good batch. These ones, however, are cut to perfection: exactly right, in very way. The only improvement they could make would be to sell them by the kilo, but I think my dentist would have something to say about that…
The second gift was a card saying I was to be taken net fishing, by the local fisherman. For those who hadn’t had the joy of hearing me talk about the upcoming trip, net fishing was the thing I most wanted to do. Casting a net around and trying to catch dinner, is there anything more manly? I think not!
Lastly (well, what I thought was lastly) was another small envelope. Within it tickets to see Conversations with Penn & Teller!! When I’d seen the show announced at the O2 back in May, I immediately tried to get tickets but without any joy. Rae had also been trying to get tickets, but also without any joy. But somehow, on my birthday, I was presented with two tickets to go and see two of my idols, in conversation, at the O2. Not just demonstrating magic, but talking about their 35 (37 now, actually) years in magic. Blimey, I was ecstatic! Quite literally the best birthday I have ever had in my life, and it wasn’t even 8am!
Walking to breakfast, everyone we met greeting me with a cheery, ‘Happy birthday!’. After eating a brief three course breakfast – cereal, fruit and then boiled eggs and beans – Rae shared the main plans for the day: a trip in a dug-out canoe down the Gambia River to south Senegal, where we’d stop for lunch, visit a local village and then make the journey back mid-afternoon.
The river Gambia. Image by Jonathan Tullett
The canoes are hand made over the course of a month by one man from mahogany. When treated with sealant and paint, they can last fifteen years or more. With less care, it would maybe last just ten. Either way, considering the near daily use, that’s some hard-wearing wood!
Setting off, it was quickly apparent why the area is famed for its bird watching. Being paddled up river by Amdul, past the mangrove plants, every few minutes a new species was pointed out; sometimes large herons, other times small kingfishers. Every short while we’d hear a slapping of water and a shoal of jumping fish would be leaping from the water, travelling some distance before gracefully diving back in and continuing their journey through the salty waters.
A couple of hours after we departed, we spotted in the distance a small jetty; we’d arrived at our destination in south Senegal. Next to the jetty is a small restaurant, run by a man and his wife. A short distance away, through some rice fields, was the local village. We were to have our lunch at the restaurant, having had a tour of the surrounding area.
Having been surrounded by English speaking Gambians or by Gambians speaking any one of the (thirteen is the number I recall being mentioned) local tribal languages, being greeted in French was a surprise. I last spoke French during my G.C.S.E back in 1996, but both Rae and I were pleased to discover I had remembered enough to a) order the food we wanted, and b) compliment the cook on the quality of the meal; both of which were appreciated by our hosts.
While lunch was being cooked (everything seems to be freshly prepared there), we were taken around the village. There were a couple of Dutch guys who were out for their second visit building a new school, and the children were finished for the day and kicking a ball around the common area. A single well served the whole village, and while there we saw a couple of girls who must only have been seven or eight, lifting large, heavy buckets of water up the 15 metre hole. Having finished filling the super-large bucket, they emptied it all back into the well again, to start repeating the game.
The school in Senegal. Image by Jonathan Tullett.
The school was a single class room, with maps around the walls and rows of small desks for the children to sit in. In Senegal, they’re taught in French, as opposed to The Gambia where it’s a requirement for every child to only speak English in the school grounds.
We walked back through the rice fields to enjoy the feast which had been prepared. After sipping the last of our drinks, we commenced the journey back to The Gambia.
Inspired by Amdul, or maybe just from the caffeine I’d imbibed during lunch, I decided that I’d ‘help’ paddle on the way back. And try I did; for about half an hour (Rae swears it was only ten minutes, but I’m sure I did better than that!), at which point my stomach muscles pleaded with me to stop, and then gave up in a protest at the effort. Finally I understood the work required to get a six-pack. I’ll never have a six-pack.
At around 3pm we arrived back where we’d started our journey, with the sun still shining brightly in the sky. And there I thought we were at the end of my birthday treats. But no, there was more to come, just when I was least expecting it!
We were eating dinner, as usual on our own table but with other guests and Maurice and Geri on neighbouring tables, and the waiter came to collect the plates from the main course. I started talking to Rae about the day’s events – still very excited by what we’d done – and the place went quiet. The next thing I knew everyone was singing, ‘Happy Birthday!’, and out came a specially prepared chocolate and beetroot (don’t knock it until you try it!) cake, complete with candles and everything! Alas, with age comes feebleness (that’s my excuse, anyway), and I failed miserably at blowing out the candles in on go. But I did successfully cut enough slices for us to have a large portion of the cake while also giving a slice to everyone else there.
The story you’ve just read is my recounting of the day. It doesn’t capture in anyway, however, how special I felt, and just how much it meant to me.
A guest post from Pat and Laura who are currently engaged on an epic trip to The Gambia with some much needed supplies for the Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust. You can follow their travels and travails on YouTube and if you can spare any cash please do support them. It’s a brilliant cause and a brilliant charity!
In October this year two Suffolk-based vets, Pat Sells & Laura Heaps, plan to drive 4,000 miles to a veterinary clinic in The Gambia, West Africa (http://www.gambiahorseanddonkey.org.uk/). Pat Sells (of Rossdales, Newmarket) has worked as a volunteer vet in Africa before, and Laura too has a keen interest in the welfare of working animals in the developing world.
The Gambia Horse & Donkey Trust is an independent charity that runs a busy clinic in Sambel Kunda, The Gambia. They carry out essential work, providing free veterinary care to a large population of horses, donkeys and mules that normally wouldn’t have any access to such help.
The trip will be made in a 4×4 which will be donated to the clinic, where it is sorely needed to get help to ill and injured horses and donkeys in the region. The vehicle will also double up as a human ambulance to get local casualties to the distant hospital. During the following months Pat & Laura will stay at the clinic to work as volunteers. Apart from the day-to-day treatment of animals, this will involve taking samples to investigate the myriad of infectious diseases that run riot through the local horse and donkey populations, leaving their owners unable to support their families.
‘The Gambia Experience’ travel company has pledged its support as one of the company sponsors, providing a very generous donation which will directly help in reducing the suffering of the animals (and people!) of the region. Every year horses and donkeys die needlessly from disease and neglect. The scale of the animal welfare problem is staggering. 95% of the world’s veterinary care focuses on just 5% of the world’s animals and livestock! There are over 100 million equines (horses, donkeys, mules) in the developing world, the vast majority without any access to veterinary care, and under the constant threat of fatal infectious diseases. It’s time we tried to balance this inequality and make a difference! With the help of sponsors such as The Gambia Experience, we will be able to do just that.”
There is a website for fundraising which shows the running total raised by the trip: http://www.justgiving.com/gambiaroadtrip. Any donation, no matter how small is greatly appreciated – this vehicle will make an immeasurable difference to the welfare of animals in the region. For any more details please contact Pat at patricksells21@hotmail.com.
