12 February 2015: The past week I was most fortunate to spend a few days at the magnificent Diamonds La Gemma Dell’ Est Hotel in Zanzibar. All I can say is that it was… and is … paradise. I got lost between the beautiful rooms, the crisp white linen, friendly and brilliant staff and then of course the lovely facilities. This is heaven people! The beaches are just amazing and this place has the best restaurants and chefs on hand to tempt and please almost every discerning palate. From the Beach Bar, Coral Cove Pizzeria, the Pavilion Restaurant to the ultimate Sea Breeze restaurant (constructed on a wooden platform just above the emerald ocean), La Gemma Dell’ Est caters to every need.
lagemmadellest.diamonds-resorts.com
Yes, Diamonds La Gemma Dell’Est is paradise
I cooked with the brilliant Chef Prabhakar Kumar – what a talented man. He served me a lobster bisque with a lobster salad – well, I could just as well been seated in a Michelin star restaurant in Paris, the man is that good. This inspiring chef and engaging personality taught me how to cook fish and rice the Zanzibar way. He shared his knowledge of local cuisine with me (more about what we cooked … next week). What a thrilling experience. Here are a few images for those of you who love to travel and to taste the food from around the world.
Chef Prabhakar Kumar from La Gemma Dell’Est Zanzibar shared some of his cooking secrets with me
The Sea Breeze Restaurant – isn’t it just to die for!
Here I appropriately had plenty of G&T’s
The pristine beach
Spices are plentiful and beautiful. The lovely crowd of ZanTours took us on a tour. Feast your eyes …
The glamorous ‘lipstick’ plant – yes, they do make lipstick from the seeds :-).
Cinnamon bark. Did you know that they make vicks from the Cinnamon root? Well, me neither.
Nutmeg – how beautiful!
The magnificent coffee pod.
Green, red and black peppercorns.
Fresh turmeric.
Fresh crabs straight from the sea