FOOD & DRINK

A mouthwatering scent emanates from the dark, velvety oxtail stew bubbling away on the braai in the middle of our camp. I'm sitting at an Out of Africa-style outdoor table laid with white china, silver cutlery and hurricane lamps in the deep, dramatic interior of the South African bush, the rolling hills and valleys of the Eastern Cape uninterrupted in every direction as far as the eye can see. The furthest hills are tinged blue while myriad shades of green set off the bright red soil of dirt tracks and baked orange termite mounds scattered among tall yellow grass. The vastness of this land and the majesty of its beauty combine to inspire a feeling so raw it's akin to a biblical experience.

I'm with television chef and author Valentine Warner at Shamwari Game Reserve. It's 60,000 acres of privately owned, malaria-free, Big Five land an hour's drive from Port Elizabeth on the Eastern Cape — itself a two-hour flight from Johannesburg or an eight-hour drive north from Cape Town through the wine lands of the Garden Route.

We are staying at the Bayethe Lodge, a place of pared-back luxury with 12 thatched-roofed, canvas-walled suites, each with its own outdoor hot tub, overlooking the banks of Buffalo River. The waterhole is close to the main deck — there is nothing so thrilling as an elephant joining you for breakfast. Today, however, we have turned our backs on such extravagances as the chandelier in the dining room or spa massages before dinner, and taken the kitchen outdoors.

Anyone who has glanced through Val's cookbooks or 
seen any of his television shows will know about his passion for fresh local produce, his fervour for fishing, shooting 
and foraging. This is a chef obsessed not only with what 
we eat but when we eat it. Infectiously enthusiastic about 
food and endlessly knowledgeable about plant and animal life, Val is a pioneer of back-to-nature and nose-to-tail eating.

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