Hello Peeps,
So............ Not been on for a while as December was a very busy month for us and i couldnt find the time to post, thought i had better put something on as on the 2nd i fly home for a couple of weeks and some serious adventures.
We as i said had a busy one with the highlights being a Safari Champagne Breakfast we did in the wilds of the Nairobi National Park, which the hotel overlooks.
Xmas morning im up at 5am and leave the girls sleeping hoping i can get home by Bubba's bedtime to see her open her presnts on what was her first Xmas,
I get to the hotel and start to load up the vehicles with eveything from portable BBQ and burners to water and spoons, we need to take everything to cook and serve the breakfast,
The guests who have upgraded come down at 6am to warm croissants and coffee, we have have about 34 for the breakfast with the remainder having a poolside breakfast in the hotel overlooking the park.
We leave the hotel by 6.15 to set up first-light has just come and we drive the short distance to the park gates to enter and set up, the spot where we are going to be is an observation post high up on the hill overlooking the park, we dont see any action on the way in except for a few wide awake and alert Impala's.
We set up quickly and as we do we see a lioness walking across the plain in front of us!!
The guests are having their game drive and will be with us around 9am so i tell my 2 breakfast girls and my Sous Chef Edwin to relax a while whilst we wait, we do some game watching but dont see much except what is maybe a Rhino in the far distance,
My plan is to greet the guests and get straight back to the hotel to oversee lunch and the set up, we are expecting around 120 but that could easily rise.(and did!!!)
The guests come we greet them pop open the champagne and settle them before i give the girls the final direction and then me and Edwin set off back to the hotel passing a big family of Giraffe on the way.
The F&B Manager Vijay looks after the guests and when he leaves they see a lioness take down an implala and rip it to shreds...............we missed the good bit!!!
Lunch prep is hectic and the dry ice i had got for the buffet we realise the stores man has managed to split the bag and all the dry ice is ruined.......oh well plan B.
Lunch looks real good, a nice set up and quickly gets very very busy with guest walk ins waiting for tables they hear we are good and can see the set up and really want to eat with us which is good.
3pm we are still rocking.3 becomes 4, 4 becomes 5 and we end up doing 172 not bad,
I get my guys some beers, drink one with them thank them and im off having cooked my Goose in my oven here, GM pops down to the kitchen and thanks the team,
I had already decided to try and help some of the homeless people i pass by on my way home so one of my team preps 6 take aways with a hot turkey lunch inside, i pass 2 ladies with babies most days and they will be my first drop off, but as i drive up the highway through the city i see a homeless guy and stop to give him a lunch he looks really suprised to see a Mzungu (Swahili for white man) stop and give him food but gives me his best toothless smile and im off again, my ladies are there so i give them 2 lunches they smile and send me blessings and merry xmas greetings they are happy!!!
It makes me very sad to see this and in contrast to the beggars of the UK who make a living from it, these people really have nothing and to see the warmth and gratitude in their eyes from something so simple really makes you think and i honestly have a tear or so in my eyes as i think of how lucky we all are at times.
Further on are 2 more ladies and their kids and then another one and im done, just need to drop of my Directors Turkey and bits and pieces i cooked for them (they live very near me) and im off to my girls, presents, champagne, foie grs and goose follow and by 10 im done, knackered and ready to kip.
Boxing day was busy then we slow getting ready for tommorow NY Eve!!!!
We are due to fly home on the 1st and have a lot lined up Kasia will turn one year old, we are having a big family party for her birthday christening with family coming from Scotland and Poland (and Wales) and then some serious eating out, El Bulli, El Celler De Can Roca, Les Duex Salons, Bar Bouloud and Tom Aikens amongst others with my fellow blogger and best buddy @chefbennett01 who is also Kasia's Godfather!!!
Im just worried the weather stops the flights again so fingers crossed i wont start to chill until we are in the air!!!
Anyway a very Happy New Year to you all and lets hope 2011 is good to all of us!!!
Cheers!!
Kevin
Will post some of the pics of the breakfast etc asap,
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