Clinton Drake, head chef, Singita Lebombo Lodge, Kruger National Park, South Africa
-- Hotels, 1/1/2008 10:49:00 AM
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| Chef Clinton Drake |
HOTELS: What exactly is “gourmet game lodge fare?” What sorts of proteins and local ingredients are most commonly found on your menus?
DRAKE: Our philosophy is that guests will expect to see certain items on the menus during their stay in a game lodge; they will probably also expect it to be cooked it a certain way.
To find a leg of warthog being roasted over open coals is probably the perception. We take the same ingredients, but use techniques and preparations that would be found in the culinary capitals of the world. So it is “game lodge fare,” but cooked and served in a way that is less rustic and more refined. It is “fine dining” in the bush.
We try to use only local ingredients—local to this region, and [try to] avoid imported “fine ingredients” like truffles and foie gras. So guinea fowl, various venison such as kudu and impala, lamb, fish from Mozambique (we’re on its border), local ducks, and citrus and tropical fruits are staples on our menus.
HOTELS: So you work to incorporate the flavors of Africa, but are guided by Western culinary traditions—does that mean you are producing a sort of fusion cuisine?
DRAKE: I don’t know… What is the definition of fusion? It is really local ingredients and what have become local specialities, but we still cook them in the traditional ways. For instance, we know that guinea fowl stewed in tomato and onion and served with “pap” is a shangaan traditional meal. In the kitchen we sous vide the guinea fowl legs; brine and sear the breasts; make a sauce with the bones, tomato and onion; and serve it with polenta. It is the same ingredients as the local dish, but the technique is better.
[Or, take] prawns baked in peri-peri, a classic Mozambique food. We serve that, as is, as part of a six-course tasting menu, after crab spring rolls and before a bouillabaisse. So yes, I suppose it is a sort of fusion, but it is not on purpose. I, and most chefs, have trained in classical French kitchens, but have grown up on the foods of this region. So serving up what I’ve been taught and what I usually eat in the same menu is a very natural, untainted repertoire of dishes for me.
HOTELS: How does cooking in a city kitchen or a fine-dining restaurant in France differ from your work at Singita Lebombo Lodge?
DRAKE: I believe that the answer to this question has been the key to our ability to cook food that differs from the norm.
Other than the wild animals, there is really no difference at all. We have rebuilt, redesigned and restructured the kitchen, staff, menus and suppliers to bring us as close as possible to a classical kitchen setup.
When I first arrived here, the difference between the kitchens of fine-dining restaurants and this one was quite large. The staff compliment was quite large, but because it was not well organized, they could achieve little with the staff available. Supply of produce was haphazard, with fish being delivered frozen. There were no organized sections and everyone changed sections daily, which meant little consistency from day to day.
Also, game lodges tend to change quite large menus every day for up to seven days before going back to the first menu, so as not to repeat a dish over a guest’s stay. The amount of produce that is needed for that sort of change is monstrous.
We now believe that if our chocolate ice cream is the best in the world, it should be available for guests every day of the year, not once every seventh day. I believe now that a chef from Europe’s Michelin-starred kitchens coming into Singita Lebombo kitchens would see little difference in the way things are operated and organized. I also believe that we get some really good fresh produce, sometimes better produce than the rest of south Africa. I drive to Maputo, 10 hours drive time, every week, to pick up the freshest fish and seafood available. I have live crab on the menu, in the middle of the bush.
HOTELS: You worked under Thomas Keller at The French Laundry—what did you learn there?
DRAKE: Too much to mention in one paragraph.
- The quest for perfection.
- How to cook with technical perfection.
- That perfection is unattainable.
- Research and development are vital.
- The exchange of ideas is the best form of progression.
- Cleanliness is next to godliness.
I think to sum up my experience there, would be this:
Whatever you do in life, do it well, as near perfect as possible. Never accept second best. Organization is key. People are your best asset.
HOTELS: Why is sourcing local talent for your kitchen so important to you?
DRAKE: It is easy to employ chefs from around the world with qualifications and amazing experience. They come at a cost, but it is normally worth the cost. It is exceptionally difficult to employ, or inherit, staff with little education, no qualifications and little food culture.
I made it my goal to change the game lodge industry in terms of food. The only way to do that is to train local people, who will move on to other local establishments and implement the ideas they have been taught.
So i suppose it is important to me to change what is at the moment a failing food experience. I think that food in the majority of game lodges is not of great quality, [and is] served by untrained staff.
It also serves us to have a pool of well trained commis and chef de parties floating around the local industry. Chefs move around a lot, it is healthier that way, but the people replacing your staff need to be well trained as well.
Hence the cooking school.
HOTELS: Tell us about the cooking school…
DRAKE: When I first arrived here, commis chefs were people who came up through the ranks as dishwashers, chef de parties were commis who were originally dishwashers, and all the sous chefs were white. Our staff food at the time was not very nice.
We wanted that to change. If the commis were being led through a selection course which gave them a qualification, and had some basic French cooking theory behind it, we would be on to a winning path. We also wanted to have nice staff food.
So we brainstormed and planned a cooking school that could accomplish these goals. We developed what is now the SSC, Singita School of Cooking. My former Senior Sous Chef, Kurt Abrahams, now heads up the school as principle. It takes on eight students over a period of eight months. It gives them a basic theory for National Qualification 2. They get their practical training by cooking staff food for 100 people—breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. So their knife skills and basic principles of cooking theory are in place.
When the 8-month term ends, we select the top two students. One comes to me, the other goes to Singita Sabi Sands. The remaining six are encouraged to find commis chef positions in the area and are assisted with job placement. The two top students are put through the various sections in the kitchen for a further 2.5 years. After the 3.5 years of training with us, they too are turfed out, unless we have a position for them in the kitchen as a demi chef de partie or chef de partie.
So in the long run, we should be producing six commis chefs, as well as two well-groomed demi chef de parties for the outside industry every eight months, retaining what we can (if they show promise to developing into sous chefs).
We had our first graduation in September last year, and the first two trainees have started working on the breakfast stations. Our next intake started in November, and is progressing well. Our sous chefs are still all white, but that is going to change rapidly as the learning progresses.
HOTELS: To what do you attribute your success thus far?DRAKE: Organising and structuring this kitchen has been the key success factor. Being inspired by the likes of Thomas Keller and Michel Troisgros has been the second. Being allowed the freedom and the resources by the company to build what I have has made it all possible. But what is success? Just when you think you’ve climbed the ladder, it seems to get higher and broader.
HOTELS: That said, what does winning the Relais & Châteaux Rising Chef 2008 award mean to you and for you?
DRAKE: It is the international scale to which this is received that makes it so worthwhile. It is not a local, two-bit award. This organization has some of the finest and most sought after properties and chefs. It puts a sign next to my name that says I might have a chance of rubbing shoulders with likes of Michel Roux, Troisgros, Keller, etc. It is the opportunity and inspiration to grow.
What makes it so satisfying is that it is recognition for all the hours, sweat, blood and tears that it has taken to put this kitchen together. There is conclusion to the work, not just more work.
HOTELS: With this type of accolade coming your way, wider recognition is inevitable. Do you aspire to become a celebrity chef?
DRAKE: I think any chef who belittles TV chefs, or denies the chance of a little fame has his priorities in the wrong order. I’ve aspired so far to be good at what I do. Great would be the next step. If fame and fortune come after that, that would be nice too, but I’m not after fame and being a celebrity. But I wouldn’t say no to it…
HOTELS: So as a young, up-and-coming chef, where do you see yourself in 3 years or 5 years?
DRAKE: That’s a terrible question to answer. I don’t know. Maybe still here… eight years in the bush might make me a little crazy though.
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