Each week we follow the students at the brand new hospitality school at the Karen Blixen Camp in the Masai Mara, Kenya. This school provides vital training and job opportunities for local youngsters in an area with high unemployment and Real Africa is proud to be supporting them.
Pork and bacon in the professional kitchen
The week was about pork. This is a surprisingly big topic as the students learned all about different cuts, the huge variety of breeds, quality control, ham, bacon and fat. Rune Eriksen the Head Chef and tutor at the school is Danish and Denmark is one of the world’s best pork producers so naturally the topic is close to Rune’s heart. He discussed how pork is raised in Denmark and how the farmers operate as well as how the butchers offer a huge range of cuts and pork products back in Denmark. In Europe pork is extremely popular and there are a huge range of recipes to make the most of this productive and versatile animal. However life in Kenya is very different and Rune started by asking the students if they knew any pig farmers or if they had even come across pigs where they lived. None of them had as the conditions in Kenya are much more suited to pastoral farming with livestock such as cows, goats and sheep being the main source of meat. In fact none of the students had even tasted pork before so they really were starting from a knowledge base of zero this week! Rune remarked it was completely different for his students then how it had been when he had done his chef training in Europe.
A Typically Danish Lunch
The week started off on Monday with the pork chops being prepared, cooked and tasted. Also they planned the rest of the week around a Danish style lunch for Karsten Ree and family on Wednesday to be followed by a bush dinner on Friday. So Tuesday and Thursday was spent learning all about with pork production and even more theory about pork. Rune was happy to be teaching his students about Danish food and being on home territory so to speak. He also got the chance to cook some good old fashioned Danish food for once. He likes classic Danish food, especially the type of dishes with some heavy sauce, potatoes and braised meat, not something you get in Kenya! He has always been more interested in traditional hearty fare than fine dining with titbits on the plate! After a few days of careful consideration Rune decided on a menu for the lunch to include fried fish fillet with remoulade served with lettuce leaves and white bread as a starter. The main course would be labscoves, a type of meaty stew, with Danish rye bread, pickled beetroot, chopped chives and cold butter. Dessert would be an old fashioned apple trifle. The students and Rune started right away in the morning with the cooking and Rune was delighted with the stew which is tricky to source in Kenya. Even the students loved the three dishes for lunch and more importantly so did the clients.
A Bush Supper
Friday was the day the students were cooking up another fantastic a bush supper for the main camps clients. This one was much larger though. Usually the average number for supper is 8 but today’s bush supper was to be for 18! The time constraints meant that the students had to cut back the normal 8 dishes on the menu. Normally 8 dishes work perfectly as there are 8 students and they are all responsible for one dish. This time however they had only 4 courses to prepare and the students worked in pairs on the dishes together. One of the guests at the bush supper was celebrating a birthday so that also had to be incorporated into the menu for the evening. Keeping to the Danish and pork theme of the week the students made a soup for the starter, a whole roasted meat for the main course and a traditional Danish layer cake for dessert. The final dish was to bake various cakes and cookies for the after dinner tea and coffee.
Waiting Service
The clients were delighted with their bush supper and as usual the students had to mix with the clients as they served the food as well as cooking it. Working as waiters and having client contact is a very important part of the learning process. The fact that there were 18 people to serve made it quite tricky for them so they had a trial run through of how to wait a table of 18 people at midday so they had plenty of time to practice first! Every student was given two plates and they walked around the kitchen and the bush supper site to practice holding the plates steady whilst walking. They also planned which seats the students would each be serving so that they wouldn’t crash into each other during service. Despite a few little mistakes the students have now learned to plan their bush suppers properly and to serve like a professional waiter would by carrying two plates on one arm. Next time the students host a bush dinner they will also be responsible for setting the table as presentation is another very important skill.
Posted by Ruth Bolton
