……BILLY SUTER……
FRENCH-BORN Francoise Malby-Anthony, managing director and co-founder of the wonderful Thula Thula Game Reserve in Zululand, has been attracting wide interest with her latest book. It’s a 194-pager – a delicious mix of cookbook and memoir focused on the French cuisine and treasured memories that have resulted from Francoise’s 27 years living on the reserve.
Published by Rockhopper Books, Dining with Elephants is aptly titled, as Thula Thula, of course, is where Francoise’s late husband, Lawrence Anthony, became known as The Elephant Whisperer, and wrote a massively popular book of the same name. This was as a result of the very strong bond he developed with seven rogue elephants he took on to his reserve to save their lives – a herd that has now grown to 29 (and counting) and which continues to attract fans from all over the world.
Continued interest in the reserve since Lawrence’s death led to Francoise writing two successful books of her own, An Elephant in My Kitchen (2018) and The Elephants of Thula Thula (2022), both published globally. Now, before preparing her next book, a children’s story focusing on the famous herd, Francoise has published Dining With Elephants, a colourful, large softcover which has her embracing two of her passions – cooking and wildlife.
Great news is that SoSuterBill has a signed copy of the book to give away, so see competition entry details at the end of this post!
Francoise, who took cooking lessons in France, has tweaked many French dishes to suit Thula Thula, and often takes a walk on the wild side by incorporating a good dash of African ingredients. She says of Dining With Elephants: “It is a love story – to food, to the wild, and to the magic that happens when we choose to live alongside nature. It is about co-existence, sharing space with wise wisdom and discovering humility in the presence of true intelligence”.
Besides the varied recipes (well over four dozen of them), she offers a collection of true, short stories: “hilarious, heart-stopping and deeply human”. She also states, and quite correctly, that the book is a celebration of her journey – “entertaining, educational and just a little different”.
“Creating dishes in the middle of nowhere, with limited supplies, was definitely going to provide mental stimulation, a way to express my endless imagination,” Francoise writes, in reference to her deciding to introducing French cuisine, often with a twist or three, to the luxury Elephant Safari Lodge at the reserve.
Over the years, explains Francoise, the place became more than a lodge. She says it became a living, breathing example of how hospitality, conservation and culinary passion can intertwine. Every meal served was a tribute to the land.
With reference to the many anecdotal tales in the book, she explains: “This story is a feast of close encounters. Cheetahs hunting at your front door, baboons in the swimming pool, and a bush baby at the bar. Then there are elephants strolling past your table, rhinos deciding to redecorate your lodge veranda, and the monkey mafia making off with the croissants”.
At least one reviewer has felt the book should be more focused on recipes and less on memoirs, but I love the mix and balance in Dining With Elephants which is packed with anecdotes and photographs of the yummy food and wildlife.
Among my favourites of the short stories here is that of cheetah Ayanda confidently ignoring the 10 000-volt electric wire around the garden at Francoise’s home on the reserve, and an alarmed Francoise finding the courage and strident voice to shout, “No, Ayana! Stop now!”. The feisty feline, seemingly unperturbed, gave Francoise a bit of a so-what look, turned around and trotted off.
On to the food… recipes for everything from breakfast dishes and soups, to cold entrees, hot entrees, seafood dishes, meat dishes, vegetable dishes and desserts are to be found in Dining with Elephants. Many seem easy to follow. All are accompanied by photographs.
Among the varied items with definite nods to Africa are Fillet of Impala with Red Wine and Bacon Sauce; Pumpkin Rusks, Malva Pudding Rusks, Mushroom and Biltong Vol-au-vents; Exotic Fruit Gazpacho with Amarula soup, and the yum Thula Thula Secret Bread. Then there’s the rich and ample Croque Madame – an egg-cheese-bread-and-bacon creation that a UK guest at Thula Thula requested not only for breakfast but for lunch and dinner too, recalls Francoise.
Also among recipes is Vichyssoise with White Truffle Oil; Curried Courgette Soup; Venison Terrine; Trout and Mango Tartare; Prawn Curry and Creamed Spinach Vol-au-vents; Bouillabaise Creole; Calamari and Chorizo in Spicy Tomato Compote; Duck Cassoulet; and the very fancy-sounding Blanquette de Poulet au vin Blanc (a chicken dish with plenty of wine. As for sweet treats, who could possibly resist the sound of Coffee and Coconut Cheesecake; Amarula Creme Brulee, or Sublime Chocolate Tart with Orange Coulis?
I have loved both of the following, easy-to-make dishes at Thula Thula during my four visits over the past 15 years, and share them here, with Francoise’s permission, for your enjoyment:
SCRAMBLED EGGS AND BILTONG ON POTATO ROSTI
Serves 4
(A very simple preparation with a special effect and originality)
Ingredients:
2 medium potatoes
4 eggs
2 tsp olive oil
1T butter
30g chopped biltong
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
1 Peel and grate the potatoes. Add salt and pepper.
2 Shape the potato rosti into eight circles, each about 7cm in diameter and 1cm thick.
3 Place the rosti in a pan and fry in olive oil until crispy and golden on both sides. Remove from the pan and let it cool. If they are too fatty for your taste, use a paper towel to sponge the fat off.
4 Prepare the scrambled eggs, cooking them slowly in a non-stick pan. Melt butter over medium-high heat until foamy. Add the eggs and cook, stirring and scrambling gently with a spatula, until fluffy curds form and eggs are fully cooked through. About 3 minutes.
5 To serve, take a round mould (6cm high and 6cm diameter). Put the mixture in the mould. Carefully remove the mould.
6 Sprinkle with the chopped biltong.
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CARAMELISED PEAR AND CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE
Serves 8
Ingredients
for the base:
1 packet Tennis biscuits (200g)
Melted butter (enough to press biscuits compactly into tart dish)
for the filling:
1 tin condensed milk (365g)
1 pot cream cheese (250g)
6 fresh pears
20g butter (for caramelising)
1T vanilla essence
for the topping:
70g dark chocolate
half-cup liquid cream
Instructions:
1 Preheat the oven to 140C.
2 Crush the biscuits, mix with melted butter, and press firmly into the bottom of a tart dish.
3 In a pan, add sugar and melt until caramel forms. Add the butter to stop it from solidifying. Cook the pears for 3 minutes, turning until slightly softened.
4 Mix condensed milk with cream cheese and vanilla essence.
5 Place the caramelised pears over the biscuit base and pour the creamy mixture on top.
6 Cook in the oven for 30-40 minutes.
7 Allow the tart to cool for a couple of hours.
8 Prepare chocolate sauce: Melt chocolate with liquid cream over very low heat, stirring continuously.
9 Put the chocolate sauce over the cooled cheesecake. Chill for a further couple of hours before serving.
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WIN A SIGNED COPY OF ‘DINING WITH ELEPHANTS”
Care to put yourself in line to win a signed copy of “Dining with Elephants’, the new cookbook and collection of memoirs from Thula Thula Game Reserve by the reserve’s managing director and co-founder, Francoise Malby-Anthony, which sells for about R430?
You simply have to be a follower of the SoSuterBill site to win. At no cost.
If you are not already a follower, click on the word ‘…..SoSuterBill…..’ that appears under Billy Suter’s face on the red curtain at the top of this post. Next, scroll down a little and leave your email address in the blank space alongside the ‘Subscribe Free’ banner. You will then be a follower, and receive email notification whenever a new story is filed on the site.
Once you have subscribed (there is no cost), send your NAME and PHONE NUMBER via email (NOT THIS SITE’S CONTACT FORM) to sosuterbill@gmail.com and place the words ‘DINING WITH ELEPHANTS COMPETITION’ in the subject field.
Note that the competition closes at 6pm on Thursday, October 15, and the winner will be contacted soon after. His/her name will be posted in this spot thereafter..
NOTE: PLEASE READ ENTRY DETAILS CAREFULLY AS SOME PEOPLE ARE ENTERING COMPETITIONS INCORRECTLY.
ALSO NOTE THAT ONLY ONE ENTRY PER SUBSCRIBER WILL BE CONSIDERED.
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