A Chef meets the Zambezi

As part of our recent collaboration with Chef and Writer, Annabel Hughes Aston, in the Bush Gourmet experience, we invited Nick Heyns to visit Thorntree Lodge and impart some of his passion and knowledge. Ongoing learning is part of our mission at Under the Influence, and this is usually focused on hospitality and wine training. Nick brought his unique food experience and flavours to this visit. Some of you may remember that Nick used to work in our team, heading up the finance department. It is so wonderful working with him again, and seeing him in action. Thanks so much to the entire ABC team for their incredible hospitality and eagerness to learn. Here is his account.

Chefs visit to Thorntree River Lodge

I am a Cape based chef who produces food inspired by the ingredients, techniques and philosophies of Thai cuisine.

I was invited to cook at a Chefs Table series at SavannaBel – Bush gourmet by Annabel Hughes Aston. During my 10-day stay, I familiarised myself with the local ingredients, utilising the organic garden's seasonal produce, locally sourced proteins, and select ingredients gathered from the bush.

This experience allowed me to develop a good understanding of the regional ingredients, which served as the foundation of my menu for the series.

Following the Chef’s Table series, I was presented with an opportunity to engage in a culinary exchange at Thorntree River Lodge, collaborating with Chef Monti and his team to introduce Thai-inspired dishes that showcased locally sourced ingredients.

This exchange allowed me to contribute to the enhancement of the lodge's menu by introducing new flavours and techniques while being mindful of making the best use of the local ingredients.

After exploring the lodge's garden, I gained a better understanding of available ingredients, which helped me develop four dishes. The aim of these dishes was to allow me to share my knowledge and techniques in a manner that could easily be adopted in the lodge’s kitchen.

The first dish we created was a Thai-inspired crayfish salad, which showcased balancing traditional Thai flavours of salt, sour, sweet, and bitter. To prepare the dish, we first harvested fresh herbs and young lemongrass from the lodge's garden. The herbs, including coriander, basil, and mint, were roughly chopped and set aside, while the lemongrass was thinly sliced.

Next, we used fresh local crayfish, which were lightly seasoned with salt and pan-fried in a small amount of vegetable oil until just cooked. To create the dressing for the salad, we harvested green chilies from the lodge's garden and combined them with a mixture of soy sauce, fresh lime juice, and sugar.

While traditionally fish sauce is used in Thai cuisine for added depth of flavour, the use of soy sauce provided a suitable vegan alternative, demonstrating how this dressing could be adjusted for certain dietary requirements.

The initial dressing required fine-tuning to achieve the optimal balance of flavours, which I assisted Chef Monti in doing by adjusting the ratios of sugar and soy sauce. The final step in assembling the salad was to combine the herbs and crayfish with the dressing, resulting in a fresh, vibrant dish.

The art of balancing the four core flavours of Thai cuisine - sweet, salty, sour, and bitter - is crucial in mastering the essence of Thai cooking. Furthermore, this dressing can be applied to various other dishes, providing a versatile tool to introduce Thai flavours to their culinary repertoire.

The second dish that I presented to the team was a classic Thai green curry made from scratch. The preparation of this dish begins with the creation of a fragrant and flavourful green curry paste, which involves combining a blend of spices such as pepper, coriander, and cumin with fresh aromatics like chili, lemongrass, coriander root, and ginger, before finally incorporating garlic and onion. This process, while time-consuming, can be streamlined by preparing the curry paste in bulk using a blender, portioning it into smaller containers, and freezing the portions for future use.

Once properly fried, the paste is then seasoned with fish sauce and sugar, with soy sauce providing a vegan-friendly alternative to the traditional fish sauce.

The final step in crafting the green curry is to add coconut milk to the pan, gently simmering the mixture until the sauce becomes infused with the flavours of the curry paste. The end result is an aromatic and flavourful sauce that can be paired with a variety of proteins or vegetables, providing a versatile base for a wide array of dishes.

The third dish I showed was a classic Thai chicken and coconut soup, known for its blend of creamy coconut cream and savory chicken stock. This soup's richness is further enhanced by aromatics including ginger, chili, and lemongrass.

Right before serving, the soup is finished with fresh lime juice, fish sauce, and chopped coriander, a combination that elevates the dish to another level.

To cater to different dietary preferences, the dish can be adapted by omitting the chicken, making it a more budget-friendly option, or by substituting the chicken stock and fish sauce with vegetable stock and soy sauce respectively, creating a plant-based version.

The last dish I showed was a pan-seared bream fillet perched atop a bed of turmeric potatoes and wilted spinach.

A fragrant reduction of fish bones, lemongrass, ginger, and onions was carefully seasoned with the indigenous tamarind (musika), providing depth of flavor and slight sourness to the sauce. This reduction was poured over the potatoes and fish, surrounding them in a pool of aromatic sauce.

To finish the dish, I introduced an Indonesian- inspired cashew nut sambal matah, a vibrant and fragrant condiment, to add a contrasting texture and bold flavor to the dish. This sambal was made by combining freshly chopped lemongrass, onion, and garlic, seasoned with salt, sugar, and lime juice, before the addition of freshly chopped coriander and roasted cashews, which lent a subtle crunch and nutty richness to the mixture. This condiment was placed atop the fish, completing the dish with a burst of complex and layered flavours.

My collaboration with Chef Monti and his team was very enjoyable. I'm currently drafting detailed recipes for the dishes we created, which will be shared with Chef Monti for his use.

I also encouraged the chef to reach out to me with any questions he may have about the dishes we worked on or for any future culinary endeavours that draw inspiration from our collaboration. It was great to work together to create these Thai-inspired dishes with regional flavours.