Bush Gourmet Food Experiences in Zambia with SavannaBel 

Situated upstream from Victoria Falls, in the middle of an indigenous woodland overlooking the Zambezi River, is one of Livingstone’s most remote – and exclusive – food experiences. 

SavannaBel – Bush Gourmet offers a bespoke, all-inclusive, five-course dining experience for a maximum of twelve people. It was created by Annabel Hughes Aston, an award-winning chef, organic gardener, forager and writer who lives with her husband on their working farm in the Zambezi Valley, upstream from Victoria Falls in Livingstone, Zambia. 

Chef Annabel is an advocate for hyperlocal, plant-forward, sustainable dining. Since moving to Livingstone nine years ago, she has worked on developing an organic garden, experimenting with wild and indigenous ingredients with what she grows. 

She uses locally-produced dairy, meat and fish. At the same time, the garden, local markets, nearby village and the surrounding wilderness make up the mainstay of her pantry: indigenous heirloom grains, fresh organic garden produce, beans and seeds, bush fruits, wild tree nuts, wild mushrooms, legumes, roots, leaves and more, which she crafts into an ever-changing menu according to the seasons. While continually training Zambian chefs, together, they bake, ferment, pickle and cook every dish from scratch, as well as create a range of bush gourmet products for retail.

There is a significant focus on community empowerment and sustainable harvest practice in Chef Annabel’s philosophy. Poverty alleviation through fundraising for solar irrigation small-scale gardens, and accessible water; collaborating with neighbouring villagers on sustainability and best practice methods for utilising wild edibles; information and knowledge sharing, discussion and partnership opportunities. Chef Annabel sincerely hopes that by promoting the use of these unique and mostly unexplored natural resources of wild and indigenous food that the local economy will also be enriched.

SavannaBel – Bush Gourmet Food Experiences in Zambia

SavannahBel – Bush Gourmet offers all-inclusive bush gourmet food experiences in Zambia in a contemporary farm homestead, set in a Kalahari woodland, offering any of the below:

• A guided tour of the organic garden, followed by a cooking demonstration, and finished with an all-inclusive five-course lunch at the homestead.
• A high-end five-course pre-fixe menu involving wild and indigenous flavours diners will not have tasted before. *Drinks included, excluding luxury brands.
• A bush gourmet cooking demonstration at the farm homestead, overseen by Chef Annabel and/or her senior staff, followed by an all-inclusive five-course lunch, which will include what had been cooked in the demonstration.
• A tour of the farm, organic garden, the on-site preschool, which can also include the neighbouring state-of-the-art fish farm, followed by an all-inclusive five-course lunch at the homestead.
• A guided tour of indigenous markets in Livingstone before driving out to the farm, followed by a walk-through of Annabel’s organic garden, followed by an all-inclusive five-course lunch at the homestead.
• A foraging tour (seasonal) in the homestead’s surrounding Kalahari woodlands, followed by a cooking demonstration, followed by an all-inclusive five-course lunch at the homestead.

*Minimum number of guests: 4
*Booking 48 hours in advance is essential.
*Dietary requirements in advance are essential.

SAVANNABEL BUSH GOURMET SAMPLE PRODUCT RANGE 

Subject to Seasonal Availability. © Annabel Hughes Aston and SavannaBel, 2014-2022

• Whole Wild Panforte                                                           
• Bush Biscotti (250g)                                                   
• Nature’s Gourmet Muesli (350g)                                               
• Dakasu Limoncello (250ml)                                               
• Wild Basil Salt                                                                      
• Gift Pack of Two Preserves (285ml each)                                                         
• Preserved Sindambi Flowers (Wild Hibiscus)                                                   
• Organic Strawberry & Muchingachinga Jam (285ml)                                               
• Mukononga Jelly (African Mangosteen)                                                           
• Mungomba Molasses (Wild Sourplum)                                   
• Organic Four Citrus Marmalade                                                        
• SavannaBel Bush Gourmet Apron                                                      
• SavannaBel Bush Gourmet Recipe Book