In Nairobi it’s Swahili and South American fusion at the newly re-opened Tatu, at the venerable FAIRMONT NORFOLK. Local boy Paul Kimani specialises in such dishes as lobster and coconut milk ceviche, seared Spanish octopus next to beetroot puree and chorizo as well as Peruvian loin steaks and pork belly in Anticuchera sauce.
In London, its Italy’s Amalfi coast at THE HARI. Partnering with Malfy Gin, the hotel’s first-floor terrace has bespoke cocktails and such Italian-inspired dishes as Bruschetta served with tomatoes, mozzarella & anchovies, Vegetable Crudité with olive oil and smoke aubergine, as well as Grissini wrapped in Parma ham and sprinkled with Parmesan flakes. For the sweet tooths, try Tiramisù or Caprese Cake, with lemon and white chocolate, and lemon ice cream.
Also in London, it’s sheer creativity at CLARIDGES. which fully opens its own-run Restaurant in September. A foretaste of chef Coalin Finn’s dishes was highlighted by an awe-inspiring visual artwork, Miso-marinated broccoli with buckwheat and preserved lemon. Other top-mark dishes included Buckwheat crumpets topped by wheels of black truffle. Imaginative and extraordinarily enjoyable.
This is the kind of food foodies crave today. By contrast read Netflix’s The Last Magnificent Jeremiah Tower thinking back a wee while: ‘A setting that was the origin of much of my inspiration for and teaching about food, was the apartment of my aunt and Russian uncle in Washington, D.C. It was there that I drank hundred-year-old Madeira, there that I discovered flavored vodkas frozen to smoothness, there that I learned to eat blini—the fire-and-ice vodka first, then the rich, buttery, caviar-laden blini. That was before the main course. Guinea fowl braised in 1907 Malmsey served on a bed of kasha and wild rice, the sauce made from the braising juices. With it we drank an 1891 Sercial. I was fifteen.’
This is one human with a super-human memory, and he’s sharing so much in his new writings, Jeremiah Tower’s Out Of The Oven. Check it out on Substack.
