From Lagos to Harare, Chef Bosco’s dream comes true.

Chef Bosco puts finishing touches to starter at Meikles Hotel.

A Matter of Taste with Charlotte Malakoff

CHEF Bosco de Govera, newly-appointed executive chef at Harare’s five star Meikles Hotel, has followed a meteoric career since graduating from Bulawayo’s famed Hotel School in 1991. Grounded in French cuisine, said by many to be the best in the world, and schooled in the British tradition (comfort food at its best), de Govera started his first job as a trainee chef at Elephant Hills Hotel in Victoria Falls.

At Elephant Hills, a popular destination for government functions, the emphasis was on traditional foods such as oxtail, muboora une dovi (pumpkin leaves and peanut butter), mutakura (beans cooked with samp), mopani worms and sadza.

It was then onwards and upwards to Victoria Falls Safari Lodge and Victoria Falls Hotel, where his skill in international cuisine impressed the hordes of tourists arriving from abroad. To be executive chef in a hotel adjacent to one of the seven wonders of the natural world would have been enough for most people. But for the adventurous de Govera, whose grandfather walked from Sofala province in Mozambique to settle in Zimbabwe, it was second nature to look for a new challenge in a foreign country.

Arriving in Botswana, Chef Bosco made his mark upon the Cresta Group of Hotels, eventually becoming involved in training staff, and sharing his expertise among thirteen Cresta hotels in tourist spots throughout the country. For lesser mortals this success would have been enough, but for the ambitious, a greater challenge always lies ahead.

Do Govera’s decision to take up the post of executive chef at the Moorhouse Hotel in the upmarket suburb of Ikoyi in Lagos, Nigeria, caused consternation and trepidation among his colleagues and bosses. Friends returning from Lagos spoke of encountering culture shock, and a very different way of doing things. For the majority of Nigerians in a country with a population of 160 million, life is a struggle and tempers can be volatile. Foreigners can also be a target for robbers and kidnappers.

Undeterred, the unstoppable chef, who believes that one ‘must carry memories, not dreams’, travelled north to Lagos, making the Moorhouse hotel his home for the next 6 years.

In addition to his proficiency in classical cuisine, de Govera became something of an expert in preparing mouth watering Nigerian specialities, such as chicken pepper soup, made with the notorious Scotch Bonnet chilli, and the all time favourite for family dinners and parties, jollof rice. Beef stew, often served with jollof rice, is simmered slowly with silverside beef, tripe and gelatinous-rich trotters. Plantains, palm oil, okra, crayfish and dried shrimp are staples.

Although fluent in pidgin English (the lingua franca across Nigeria) and successful in his career, Chef Bosco decided it was time to come home to Zimbabwe. On the retirement of Chef Gonzo after 40 years at the legendary Meikles Hotel, the vacancy of executive chef arose. ‘I grew up knowing Meikles Hotel’, said Chef Bosco, ‘and after working at Meikles Hotel, my dreams will be fulfilled’.

De Govera hopes to achieve great things at Meikles Hotel, although he’s concerned about the difficulty of sourcing the products and ingredients vital to preparing the meals one expects to enjoy at a 5 star hotel. In spite of Zimbabwe’s stuttering economy, the meal that Govera prepared at la Fontaine on Independence Day was impressive. A starter of succulent steamed prawns served with ‘zingy guacamole’ in crispy wonton cups was followed by Karroo lamb prepared in three ways. Rack of lamb with a herb and crumb crust sat alongside a phyllo purse of curried lamb ragout and a crispy lamb croquette, served with home made mint sauce and a lamb jus. Brightly coloured purees of butternut, peas and spinach completed the elegant presentation.

Chef de Govera is currently working on menus and wine lists that he knows will delight both international travellers and local residents. Meikles Hotel, the Grande Dame of hospitality in Harare, turns 103 years old in November this year, and the way things are looking, this will be a very special occasion.

Meikles Hotel

Cnr Sam Nujoma Street/Jason Moyo Avenue

Harare

Tel: 04 707721

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