Welcome to ‘Safari Conversations’ – the Singita Podcast.
30 years ago, our Founder, Luke Bailes, had a dream of creating a pioneering ecotourism brand that could help save pristine wilderness areas in Africa for future generations.
The first chapter of this story started when we built Singita Ebony Lodge, in the Sabi Sand, in 1993.
But truly, it began long before that, on a piece of land his grandfather owned and where they spent holidays as a family at Castleton.
So much has happened in the last 30 years, to where we find ourselves now – owning and managing award-winning lodges across four countries in Africa. And, we are looking to expand our conservation footprint even further.
As a brand we’ve always been devoted to conservation and working alongside NGO partners and guests who share our vision.
But at the heart of it all, you’ll find the many incredible people who work at Singita.
Welcome to our Podcast – where you’ll meet some of the very talented people who make our life-changing safaris a reality.
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Welcome to ‘Safari Conversations’ – the Singita Podcast.
30 years ago, our Founder, Luke Bailes, had a dream of creating a pioneering ecotourism brand that could help save pristine wilderness areas in Africa for future generations.
The first chapter of this story started when we built Singita Ebony Lodge, in the Sabi Sand, in 1993.
But truly, it began long before that, on a piece of land his grandfather owned and where they spent holidays as a family at Castleton.
So much has happened in the last 30 years, to where we find ourselves now – owning and managing award-winning lodges across four countries in Africa. And, we are looking to expand our conservation footprint even further.
As a brand we’ve always been devoted to conservation and working alongside NGO partners and guests who share our vision.
But at the heart of it all, you’ll find the many incredible people who work at Singita.
Welcome to our Podcast – where you’ll meet some of the very talented people who make our life-changing safaris a reality.
From Garden to Plate - a Tasty Tale from Rwanda with Head Chef Vanie Padayachee
Safari Conversations - the Singita podcast
34 minutes 1 second
1 year ago
From Garden to Plate - a Tasty Tale from Rwanda with Head Chef Vanie Padayachee
In this episode, we meet Singita’s Head Chef at Singita Volcanoes National Park, in Rwanda. Vanie Padayachee chats to Sharon Machira, a journalist, content creator and Podcaster in Kenya, about a previous visit to spill the beans (and the gooseberries) about the on-site nursery called ‘Akarabo’ (meaning Little Flower) and the food philosophy here.
In an entertaining conversation, they unveil the plant-based menu with ingredients plucked from the lodge garden or sourced from female farmers, and what she does with tree tomatoes. Delicious raspberries, lettuce, green beans, rainbow carrots, and herbs are harvested from the Akarabo garden.
Rwanda’s volcanic soil is so fertile! The team built two mushroom huts which have yielded 1,000kg of oyster mushrooms over time! Other plentiful, year-round local ingredients are passion fruit, strawberries, dodo (spinach), and sugar cane which Vanie turned into cordial and ice cream. She didn’t stop there. She also created a tree tomato jam, which apparently can make you cry.
Sharon takes us down memory lane to the Singita Community Culinary School (SCCS) in Musanze, where she met the students and taught them a TikTok dance challenge! They’ve all become chefs. One student travelled to Cape Town for an internship with Chef Liam Tomlin at Chef’s Warehouse. In SCCS’s third year, applications from the immediate community grew from 100 (in the first year) to 400. This education changes the trajectory of their lives.
They discuss ingredients and sustainability in the kitchen. Vanie explains what activities are available to guests in the nursery – such as yoga, a pottery studio, picking your own ingredients, a running track, visiting the seamstress, or planting a tree.
Guests graze often, just like the buffalo, Golden Monkeys, and Mountain Gorillas. Vanie says we should eat simply, and let the ingredients become the storytellers!
Safari Conversations - the Singita podcast
Welcome to ‘Safari Conversations’ – the Singita Podcast.
30 years ago, our Founder, Luke Bailes, had a dream of creating a pioneering ecotourism brand that could help save pristine wilderness areas in Africa for future generations.
The first chapter of this story started when we built Singita Ebony Lodge, in the Sabi Sand, in 1993.
But truly, it began long before that, on a piece of land his grandfather owned and where they spent holidays as a family at Castleton.
So much has happened in the last 30 years, to where we find ourselves now – owning and managing award-winning lodges across four countries in Africa. And, we are looking to expand our conservation footprint even further.
As a brand we’ve always been devoted to conservation and working alongside NGO partners and guests who share our vision.
But at the heart of it all, you’ll find the many incredible people who work at Singita.
Welcome to our Podcast – where you’ll meet some of the very talented people who make our life-changing safaris a reality.
