restaurants – Chanters Lodge Livingstone

Elias ‘E-Vibes’ Limwanya

It’s no good pretending that all was well on the latest edition of The Chanters Lodge Experience with The Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George Soulchild, our regular Sunday night radio show airing at 20.30 hrs on 107.7 fm, Zambezi Radio, Livingstone’s popular local radio station. Why? Well three of us, including our Guest Elias Limwanya, pictured above, are Arsenal supporters and we were still in a state of shock following our team’s defeat in the Carling Cup Final about half an hour before we went on air. Even George Soulchild’s team Liverpool had lost. Anyway, we all tried our best!

Elias is better known as ‘E-Vibes’ and is a full time presenter, disc jockey and newscaster on Zambezi fm, for whom he’s worked for almost 3 years. He told listeners that he’d had a tough upbringing losing both his parents in a road accident on the Copperbelt in 1998 when he was 8. He’d been brought up by an uncle, completing his Grade 12 at Linda Secondary School – our second consecutive weekly Guest educated at that Livingstone school I pointed out. How had he got the name ‘E-Vibes’? We wondered, and Elias explained that George Soulchild was the person who’d helped him find a good name to use on radio. In fact it transpired that George had helped Elias at almost every stage of his career and that was a source of pride for us on the show!

Still single, Elias told listeners he’d never been bungee jumping and had no intention of doing so and had not walked with lions but would quite like to do that. His main work project at the moment was co-hosting the Breakfast Show on 107.7 fm with George Soulchild which he was enjoying. He’d been on Facebook since 2008 and was a regular contributor. What did he think of Arsenal losing that vital match? He was quite philosophical about it and said he was looking forward to their upcoming FA Cup replay and of course the return leg against Barcelona in the Champions League.

We played Adele’s number one UK smash hit ‘Someone Like You’ at the top of the show back to back with Ne-Yo’s ‘Give Me Everything’. We dropped C.R.I.$.I.$ featuring Nalu ‘I Wanna Live My Life’ – informing any listeners who didn’t already know that C.R.I.$.I.$ had won the best international act at the recent BEFFTA awards in the USA. Moving on to Exile’s ‘In Love With You’ and Alesha Dixon’s ‘Breath Slow’ the mood in the studio was slowly improving, the music taking hold. Lady Saw featuring Eve ‘He Is At My House’ and Wizkid’s smash ‘Holla At Ya Boy’ rocked the house. We were happy at that point to get a call from Swithin Haangala the owner of 107.7 fm saying how much he was enjoying the show, even if we weren’t sure that we were! ‘Why did he call now”? I asked the guys. George quipped “he heard the track ‘Holla At Ya Boy’ and decided it was time to give you a holla!” We laughed!

I had a surprise when we offered a prize of a dinner for two at Chanters Lodge to the first listener to text us Elias’s radio name. One of the many people to send us an answer, (some before I’d even finished asking the question!) was a former Ridgeway Hotel worker and Ridgeway Raiders (our football team) goalkeeper – Emmanuel Malunga. Seeing goalkeepers were very much on the mind of we Gunners, for all the wrong reasons, we gave him the prize!

1
MAR

activities, Africa, Arsenal, Chanters, education, entertainment, football, hotels, radioshow, restaurants, Ridgeway, victoriafalls, Zambia

The Jolly Fisherman, London

For all you Zambian foody fans in UK here’s some good news for you in London!

The Jolly Fisherman, at 108 North St, Barking, Essex, the only Zambian owned pub in the United Kingdom has told UKZAMBIANS that they will be working together with Fredor (a Zambian owned restaurant) to offer Zambian food in the pub.

Bernard Chisanga, owner of The Jolly Fisherman said: “We have been talking to Ms. Mubiana for a while and now a mature agreement is in place to offer Zambian meals during the weekend at the Jolly Fisherman. This will make sure that Zambians and non-Zambians alike who come to enjoy our drink will also enjoy a proper Zambian meal (nshima, chibwabwa, ifishimi,etc) in one place. Our patrons will from this weekend onwards enjoy their drink and food with full Zambian flavor”.

In a separate interview, Ms. Dorothy Mubiana, owner of FREDOR, confirmed the new partnership as a way forward for Zambians demonstrating a model working partnership for Zambians living overseas. Ms. Mubiana said: “Zambians need to work together for the good of every Zambian, not running away from each other, particularly Zambians living abroad”. She said, they had discussed the partnership with The Jolly Fisherman for more than a year and she was very pleased that they had finally agreed the modalities. “We have done all the work and I am calling everyone out there to come with their friends and family to enjoy an authentic Zambian dish starting this weekend, 26th February and onwards every weekend Saturdays and Sundays”.

Ms Mubiana added that apart from selling Zambian cooked food, she has uncooked Zambian beans, peas, maize, peanuts, sweet potatoes, pumpkins leaves, smoked caterpillars, Kapenta, etc. She can be contacted on 07947 106 429.

We wish them the best of luck!

25
FEB

Africa, bestofzambia, development, food, London, management, marketing, menu, restaurants, Zambia

Dinner at The Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park

A long, long time ago I did my bar training at the Hyde Park Hotel in Knightsbridge. It is of course now known as the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park (above) and is home to Dinner Heston Blumenthal’s latest restaurant. So, this piece in Hotel Chatter obviously caught my attention – more especially as my son Jan is the newly appointed Head Chef at The Penny Black restaurant in Fulham Road London, opening next week. We certainly hope his advance bookings are as good as Heston’s!

Heston Blumenthal’s new restaurant Dinner has already been named “best new restaurant in the world” by restaurant critic Giles Coren in The Times. London’s most eagerly awaited restaurant located in the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park only opened its doors last week but it’s already fully booked until the end of May.

Not surprising as the reviewers and bloggers have wasted no time gushing over the medieval menu which features Meat Fruit – a chicken liver dish shaped like a plastic mandarin, Powdered Duck, Spiced Pigeon and Tipsy Cake, a “spit-roast pineapple” (ooh-err). To see the full menu, head over to the restaurant’s website. Yes, a lot of it sounds pretty gross, but then, so did most of his molecular gastronomy stuff that we tried at the Fat Duck (his flagship restaurant in Bray, Berkshire), and it was nothing less than amazeballs. Plus, there’s always chips for those who like to play it safe.

The Telegraph’s critic rated it 10/10, Londonist agreed with Coren, Time Out gave it four out of five stars, and even the Guardian thought the food was worth paying for.

Which leads us on to the price. Dinner at Dinner isn’t cheap, but it’s not half as bad as we feared. Starters run from £12.50 and most main courses are around the £30 mark. Desserts are from £8, and sides are a ridiculously cheap £4. The wine’s not horrific, either: from £35 a bottle. As we said, not a night out for when the budget’s tight, but the prices are in line with other posh London restaurants. And by way of comparison, the famed 13 course tasting menu at the Fat Duck costs £160 per head.

But there’s an amazing deal if you can’t splash out on dinner: a three course set lunch for just £28. Yup, £28. Available Monday to Friday, 12-2.30pm. There are two choices for each course: lemon salad or “ragoo of pigs’ ears” to start, cured salmon or roast quail for your main, and chocolate wine or orange buttered loaf for dessert.

You need to plan ahead, though. According to the website, Dinner is now booked up until the end of May, and they’ll be opening up reservations for June on 1 March. If you need to get in before then, you can apply to be on the waiting list or, if desperation calls, you can buy other people’s rezzies on eBay. When we checked, the highest price was £62 although one sold last week for just short of £100.

18
FEB

family, hotels, London, restaurants, richard, training

Guests Donate To SOS

We don’t often reproduce Guest reviews from TripAdvisor on the blog, as they update automatically on to our website anyway. In exceptional cases we do though and I think this most recent review qualifies as exceptional through the generosity of our Guests.

“My 19 year old daughter and I stayed at Chanters Lodge for 3 nights in January. Mr. Chanter (himself!) picked us up (and returned us to) the airport at no extra charge. He also gave us a ride to Victoria Falls (normally a $10 US taxi ride and about 10 minutes) while showing us a bit of Livingstone and giving us some travel tips ~ that immediately made us feel much more comfortable with our new surroundings.

This was our first visit to Zambia. We decided to stay at Chanters Lodge because we did not want the insulation of one of the big hotels. We are so GLAD that we chose Chanters! Our room was charming with mosquito nets (not really needed during our stay) over the beds. All of the staff at the Lodge, especially Anastasia, were very helpful in helping us choose activities and get them all arranged. It was no problem to call a taxi to the Lodge for pick-up to our activities when transportation was not included.

The Lodge has a restaurant so meals were easy and delicious. A full breakfast ordered off the menu is included with the room.

We visited the spectacular Victoria Falls two times, walked out on the bridge to Zimbabwe, bartered for souvenirs at the “curio” stands in town, had high tea on Livingstone Island, and canoed for a half-day on the upper Zambezi. Chanters Lodge is an easy walk in to Livingstone (the falls are a $7 taxi ride from town – too far to walk). Anastasia easily helped us make the arrangements for tea, canoeing, and taxis. No pressure at all for booking any trips and Anastasia shared some very helpful tips based on other hotel guest’s reviews.

Prior to coming to Zambia, Richard Chanter helped us make contact with a local orphanage which we hoped to visit with some gifts. Anastasia even accompanied us on our trip to the SOS Children’s Village. The SOS Childrens Village, by the way, seems to be a very well run home and school for 180 children. Our visit was welcomed, our gifts appreciated (we brought to large duffle bags of Tshirts and toys), and we were totally impressed with educational opportunites for the kids and the structure of the homes. A very worthy organization that operates in 130+ countries.

A bonus for us was meeting Tim and Claire, newlyweds who were on our same flight into Livingstone and staying at Chanters. We ended up doing most activities with them and really enjoying their company! Even when we were caught in a ferocious rain storm while at the Falls. We sloshed our way to the Royal Livingstone Hotel to have a cup of tea on the veranda with a beautiful view of the grounds and the Zambezi with the clouds of spray from the Falls. Walking to the Royal Livingstone for tea was an excellent suggestion from Richard Chanter.

I would heartily recommend Chanters Lodge and would definitely stay there again if chance ever brings me back to Livingstone.”

Thanks to the author! The picture? Children playing at the SOS Childrens Village.

30
JAN

accommodation, activities, Africa, charities, children, guests, restaurants, reviews, SOS, zambezi, Zambia

Penny Black Restaurant, Chelsea, London.

As you may have seen earlier in the week, my son Jan-Martijn has recently been appointed Head Chef at Penny Black Restaurant in Fulham Road, Chelsea. Opening is scheduled for the 3rd week in February, so you can imagine the hectic pace of his life at the moment. The photo of Chef doing dangerous things at Victoria Falls was taken some years back! I’ve been lucky enough to get a sneak preview of the menu and I’ve chosen the following to tickle your taste buds!

STARTERS
London Particular
As I haven’t a clue what it is!

Mussels & Cockles, Cider & Mustard Broth, Carrots, Kohlrabi & Cress
It reminded me of Sweet Molly Malone as she walked the streets broad and narrow – and the dish sounds thoroughly exotic

Pigs Head Terrine, Pear Chutney, Toast Brawn sounding favourite and I love pears – and chutney for that matter!

MAIN COURSES
Ginger Pig Sausages & Mashed Potatoes
Irresistable

Roast Lemon Chicken, Bread Sauce & Vegetables
A firm favourite, especially the Bread Sauce

Pigeon Pie, Bacon and Red Cabbage
Something I’ve never eaten but sounds very ‘London’

DESSERTS
Chocolate & Rum Cake, Vanilla Ice Cream
Just this thanks very much!

Made your mouth water? I bet it has!

29
JAN

2011, Africa, family, food, London, menu, restaurants, uk, victoriafalls

Jan-Martijn Chanter – Head Chef

I had this news the other day via Facebook and it’s congratulations to Jan-Martijn, one of my sons, on this exciting new appointment. Of course you might not know that Jan’s kitchen training started very early in his life and was conducted by his granny and his dad, as the above picture proves!

Congratulations Jan! Who wrote:

“Good news is that I have accepted a job as head chef at the Penny Black Restaurant. The owner is an old comrade from the days of the Atlantic Bar and Grill – Tony Ho. I’d noticed that he was opening a place and I messaged him that I’d be interested in sorting out the kitchen. He called me back and we have moved on from there. The food concept is British Seasonal.”

On further investigation I discovered that the restaurant is due to open in February, and here’s what I also found on the internet:

“The Penny Black Restaurant is a traditional British restaurant, evocative of fond childhood memories and creating a home from home on Fulham Road, Chelsea.

Traditional British long lost favourites such as; Beef Wellington, Toad In The Hole, London Particular, Braised Oxtail, Scottish Lobster, Cottage Pie, Grilled Dover Sole, Bread & Butter Pudding, Apple & Rhubarb Crumble and Arctic Roll are just a few of the nostalgic dishes on the wholesome and hearty menu. All are cooked in the indulgently classic style using the finest of ingredients from British farmers and producers.

The team behind The Penny Black Restaurant has over 30 years experience between them in the London restaurant scene having worked with legends such as Oliver Peyton on his eponymous and much missed ‘Atlantic Bar and Grill’. The comfortable yet opulent décor features original artwork from Simon Claridge the up and coming Washington Green artist whose work is currently on display at galleries worldwide.”

The restaurant is quite near Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC and Jan-Martijn as an Arsenal fan (it’s compulsory in the family) says he’ll have to ‘set aside his Chelseaphobia’ while at work.

He’s a wonderful chef and of course we wish him the very best of luck in this exciting new project!

26
JAN

2011, family, food, London, restaurants, uk

Ethel Mashawila & Shupiwe Mulenga

This week, for a change, on the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Kaufela – our weekly Sunday night radio show, airing at 20.30 hrs for an hour on Zambezi Radio 107.7 fm – we featured two of the kitchen staff from Chanters Lodge. Ethel Mashawila (left) and Shupiwe Mulenga pictured above. Shupiwe’s our acting head cook and Ethel ‘the vice’ as she put it, when Milli Jam asked the girls what positions they held at the lodge.

Although the girls confessed to being ‘a bit nervous’ on the way to the studio they had no need to be – they were both well spoken, interesting and happy on air, as indeed they are for the most part at work. “What would you cook for us if we came to eat at the lodge”? George (Kaufela) and Milimo (Milli Jam) asked the girls. “For you Kaufela we’d cook pepper steak with mashed potatoes” replied Ethel. “Mmmm nice” said George. “You, Milli Jam, will have chitonga chicken with nsima” continued Shupi. “Why”? asked Milimo. “You look like a Tonga”! She replied, as we all laughed. The girls went on to explain the preparation of the dishes to the listeners.

Shupiwe and Ethel explained that they’d both worked at Chanters for about 2 years. Milli Jam asked Shupiwe how old she was but she refused to tell him! Pursuing the matter Milimo queried her: “aren’t you too young to be in charge of the kitchen”? Shupiwe acidly replied “leadership has no age barrier”. And that shut him up! Stunning! The presenters, as usual, wanted to know if the girls had boyfriends. Ethel told listeners that she had, and also an 8 month old baby girl, Queen. Shupiwe replied that she was ‘very single’ which made the guys sit up and take notice.

The music for the show was excellent as usual. After our opening ‘Candy’ by Aggro Santos we spun Mohombi’s ‘Bumpy Ride’ back to back with Timati ft Diddy Dirty Money and ‘I’m On You’. George chose a Zone Fam number ‘It’s Alright’ as we’d been blogging about Zone Fam during the week. This he coupled with a latest track from Ty2 ft JK ‘Ubuchende’ – “what does that mean”? I asked. “You’ll be told off air”! Was the answer…and I was! Milli Jam featured Bruno Mars with Damian Marley ‘Liquor Store Blues’ coupled with David Archuleta’s ‘The Other Side’. ‘Drop Down’ Akon ft Ludacris and Katy Perry’s ‘Part Of Me’ wound up a good play list.

“What kind of music are you into”? The girls were asked. Ethel replied that she liked Zambian music and Gospel, Shupiwe slow tracks, with her favourite artists Monica and Whitney Houston. “Stuck in the 90’s with Milli Jam” was my comment on that one! Asked about their ambitions both girls said they’d love to own their own businesses one day involving food production.

After we’d given away the usual dinner for two with drinks, I made the point that one of the least expected positive results of hosting a weekly radio show on Zambezi Radio 107.7 fm was the morale boost it gave the staff at the lodge. Ethel and Shupiwe confessed that when it wasn’t busy at work and the show was on, the Chanters Girls back at the lodge danced. “I don’t mind” I said, “I love the big smiles we get when we come back from the studio”! And I do!

In other news one of these girls said she supported Manchester United, the other Chelsea.

11
JAN

Africa, Chanters, children, entertainment, food, football, management, music, radioshow, restaurants, staff, Zambia

Restaurant Critic – Bye! In LA

Wow! This from Inc made me sit up and take notice!

“On December 21, Los Angeles Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila was recognized by a staff member as she was waiting for her table at L.A. restaurant Red Medicin e (above). Not only were Virbila and her party asked to leave, she was photographed and her image was posted on the restaurant’s Tumblr site along with an explanation from Red Medicine’s managing partner Noah Ellis.

“Our purpose for posting this is so that all restaurants can have a picture of her and make a decision as to whether or not they would like to serve her.” Ellis wrote. “We find that some of her reviews can be unnecessarily cruel and irrational, and that they have caused hard-working people in this industry to lose their jobs—we don’t feel that they should be blind-sided by someone with no understanding of what it takes to run or work in a restaurant.”

For sure, restaurant managers have the right to refuse service to anyone. But to photograph and expose a newspaper critic—who often goes to great lengths to preserve his or her anonymity—seems a bit extreme. And while it’s certainly true that a bad review can be devastating to a restaurant—or a movie or a play or an iPad app—it’s ultimately the consumers’ opinions that determine whether an establishment stays in business or not.

Do restaurant critics have too much power? Did Ellis have the right to refuse service and “out” Virbila by releasing her photograph?”

I don’t know, but if they were after publicity they got it!

29
DEC

Customers, restaurants, reviews, staff, usa

Isaac Mwanza & Mubiana Jeff Nalwendo

Our Guests on the latest edition of The Chanters Lodge Experience with The Milli Jam Ingredient, featuring George Da Soulchild, were Isaac Mwanza (left) and Mubiana Jeff Nalwendo pictured above. Isaac is IT Manager at Zambezi Radio 107.7 fm and Mubiana is Production and Programmes Manager. Bit incestuous you’re thinking, considering our regular Sunday night radio show goes out on their station? Maybe, but they guys were there for a purpose.

As well as being part of the management of the station both gentlemen are very popular local DJ’s! Isaac goes on air as DJ Chin Cavaly 2010 and Jeff is MJ Fabulous! This Saturday 4th December the guys are organizing a show in Livingstone for upcoming musicians where the young and talented can display their music to the fans. (This stirred memories for me as we used to do the same sort of thing at Southern Sun Ridgeway Hotel on Folk Night, every Tuesday. A lot of older musicians in Zambia got their break on that show.) “Who’s starring for you”? I asked. “Locally it’s Kaufela” they replied, “but we’re bringing in BFlow from Lusaka, because we feel the fans should get value for the K15,000 per ticket they’ll be paying”. “Tell me about Kaufela” I continued. “George can tell you more” Isaac said. “It’s me” said George. “Yes” I said “you’re going to tell us about him”. “It’s me”! George said again, “I’m Kaufela”. Well, blow me down! I’d realised George was also a musician, but had no idea he was so well known on the local scene! MJ and Chin took the chance to thank all the many local companies that were helping to sponsor the show, including Chanters Lodge. The final line up of musicians had yet to be confirmed but it was announced that Milli Jam would be MC for the show!

Milli Jam wanted to know how Isaac and Mubiana had come up with their show business names. Isaac was reticent but said he changed his name every year and it was nothing to worry about. Mubiana said that at his father’s suggestion he had had used his initials, and it was the fans early on in his career at UNZAfm who’d added ‘Fabulous’. Mubiana is a graduate in Mass Communications from the University of Zambia and Isaac is expecting admission into the Copperbelt University next year to read computer studies. He’s already an expert in this field. MJ is famous for playing new numbers, Chin for hip-hop and r&b plus his chart knowledge which is legendary.

The music on the show was good but somehow drowned out by the noise! When DJ’s get together – and there were 5 in the studio including Tendai With An ‘i’ but not including me – they talk a lot. Anyway we played ‘Girls Fall Like Dominoes’ by Nicki Minaj, back to back with ‘So Alive’ by Skepta ft NDubz. Kaufela’s selection was ‘Hands Across The World’ by ONE8 the smash hit combination of R Kelly and loads of African artists including JK, a Zambian star. George coupled it with ‘Nibandani Ba Nzako’ from the new as yet unreleased K’Millian album. ‘Where are your friends when you need them’ was the translation. Milli Jam featured Rick Ross with ‘Aston Martin Music’.

Isaac and Mubiana briefed listeners about their roles at Zambezi fm as well as plans for the station’s new website and we gave away the usual dinner for 2 – won on this occasion by the manager of a rival local radio station! It was a good and informative show.

30
NOV

Africa, Chanters, entertainment, livingstone, Lusaka, music, People, radioshow, restaurants, Ridgeway, Zambia

Blue Vinny, Dorset

We had some truly memorable meals at some great restaurants in England while we were there recently on annual leave. Top of the pile (probably) was The Blue Vinny near Dorchester, Dorset, pictured above. The restaurant was packed on a Thursday night. We overheard one Client saying to a waiter ‘You’re busy for a Thursday…’ ‘Yes’ replied the waiter, ‘we’ve really started to get busy on Thursdays’. Another Client chipped in ‘No bl**dy wonder! No-one can get a booking on a Friday or Saturday!’ Says it all really. Here’s what they write in the blurb on their website.

“Alex and Nicky Ford took over this traditional village pub in Puddletown, near Dorchester in June 2008. Keeping the very best of the old, they set about combining its warm, friendly country ambience with a cool, airy modern interior – part of a style that is reflected in their approach to the food and hospitality. Something for which this bar and restaurant is rapidly gaining a first-class reputation.

The food is home cooked, and where possible the ingredients are seasonal and sourced locally from the family farm, friends or trusted specialist suppliers. The wines have been chosen to complement the menu, and there is always a range of excellent guest ales on tap.

Together with Head Chef John Shrigley and his team, they’ve created a menu that reflects their personal tastes, with a truly international approach – a style that owes as much to the hot islands of the Mediterranean as it does to the classic and everyday dishes of Britain and mainland Europe.

Having only recently returned to their home county of Dorset, Alex and Nicky are passionate about producing the very best food at accessible prices, as well as extending a warm and friendly welcome to locals and visitors alike.”

Couldn’t agree more. I had cod in a delicately light batter served on a rocket salad with lime mayonnaise. My partner had belly pork on mashed potato and my sister had duck. Desserts were a wonderful blueberry cheesecake and a genuine Dorset apple cake. The bill? 75 pounds with drinks and wine – very reasonable for the delicious food and excellent service. Incidentally, for the uninitiated, Dorset Blue Vinny is a type of blue cheese….

28
SEP

food, restaurants, uk

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