Meet Chef, Mpilo Khumalo and Pastry Chef, Mandy Mazibuko from The Nest Drakensberg Mountain Resort Hotel. These two have been super busy in the kitchen, especially over the past long weekend when we celebrated Heritage Day as a nation. We hope they delighted you with their delicious food!
During lockdown, Chef approached us with an idea to start a ‘food garden’ and we were thrilled with his idea. He is an environmentally conscious man, who not only takes pride in the work he does, but also considers the welfare of the planet we live on. I could almost see his brain ticking over with all the superb ideas bursting to get out and he was so keen to get started on his project. Of course when we agreed, he jumped at the opportunity and the first step was to select an area that was not only conveniently located, but also safe from being devoured by the local population of vervet monkeys!
This was to be the start of Chef’s very own kitchen garden and he was delighted to be able to offer the guests of The Nest Hotel, fresh veggies straight from the garden. Our pastry chef soon jumped in with her ideas for pretty flowers and all those delicate petals you see decorating your plate also come from the kitchen garden. There is nothing more these two enjoy than making sure their veggies and flowers are well taken care of. Their aim is to deliver the freshest produce to your plate, while trying to do their bit save the planet at the same time.
We have taken it a step further and also have our own Bokashi, this means that as much kitchen waste as possible is recycled and any nutrients derived from the fermentation process are introduced back into the soil. On top of that we also have a compost heap to recycle any garden waste, producing our very own organic compost. We are very proud of our chefs and their great ideas and I can honestly say there is nothing more rewarding than serving our guests only the freshest vegetables, straight from our kitchen garden.
The Nest Drakensberg Mountain Resort Hotel looks forward to welcoming you very soon to our special place.
Stay safe!