Taste exotic, local cuisine – go green

 This oasis is full of trees dripping with avocados, peaches coming in to flower, paw paws, heavy hands of bananas, tree tomatoes, guavas. At the Chikukwa Ecological Land Use Centre, a community training centre owned and run by the six villages surrounding the Chikukwa community the principle is permaculture and the terraced beds are full of spinach mixed with onions, rape, herbs and lettuce. The food is local – bread from wheat grown in irrigated fields below, greens from the garden, peanut butter and wild honey from the community.
It’s a long, long way from the city and even further from Mekka – a sophisticated lounge bar come fancy fish and sushi restaurant newly opened in Borrowdale Village – where the food is anything but local.
I was invited there last week by a friend who promotes high-end whiskies and other liquor and who supplies Mekka, so she knows everyone and was greeted and welcomed warmly by chef Ant Berrents. We sat at the highly polished granite bar and enjoyed people watching. Slick and stylish, the place allows no under 25s – a couple of smart bouncers greet downstairs presumably to check IDs if necessary. Not for us and we were relieved that at least we wouldn’t bump into our children! Mekka is spaciously furnished with black leather lounge suites and high granite tables with comfy bar stools. On the outside deck are wooden picnic bench tables for serious eaters. We were serious enough in spite of refusing the recommended special – prawn and piri-piri chicken combo. There was so much to choose from.
I haven’t tried sushi much in Zimbabwe, being wary of the freshness so far inland but with two Japanese trained sushi chefs imported from South Africa – we could watch them at work too –  this seemed the place to go for it. We weren’t disappointed. US$20 brought us a beautiful selection, immaculately presented on a long shiny black platter. We also couldn’t resist an oyster each (US$2 per oyster) – plucked fresh from a tank in front of us and beautifully served in an oversized shell with accompanying squeeze of lemon and Tabasco. 
With the addition of a couple of pretty salmon roses (US$5) this was really more than enough for me, and was nicely washed down with a sharp, salty margarita cocktail. But in the spirit of properly checking everything out we ordered a main course each – the prawn special (US$13) and lobster tails (US$15).
We were unable to do justice to everything but the left-overs, kindly packed for us in foil – 1 tail and several prawns were well appreciated by my husband who had been left to fend for himself that night.
We were well-entertained all round – from watching the barmen mix exotic cocktails in gorgeous glasses, to the smoky saxophonist keeping the night mellow.
The place was packed with a diverse crowd and a lively ambience of good cheer. Sure it wasn’t cheap – supper for two (well three if you include the absent husband) was US$57 and the drinks added up to another US$16 (US$5 for the margarita – US$3 for a glass of wine) – but it was all      delicious and felt like a special night out. I want to go back soon for seasonal artichoke hearts – grown in Ant’s garden – a taste of the exotic local to balance my carbon footprint so I can enjoy that imported fish with a clearer conscience!

– gjeke@yahoo.com