Sarah’s Food Safari is headed your way

Sophie and elephants and Zimbabwe and love.

Rob, Sophie, Isla and I
Another epic African sunset, more memories made.

Back home at Antelope Park in Zimbabwe

Our Director, Chris Lotz.
He sees things in three dimensions and full colour and, just, beautifully.

An average day on set, with our bush cooking station all set up,
and Big Anne (the overland truck) standing quietly by.

Hey friends

It’s been a while! You see, we’ve been a little busy… the last 8 weeks were spent on the road in Zimbabwe, Zambia and various parts of South Africa shooting Sarah Graham’s Food Safari.

It was an epic journey, filled with so many colourful moments and memories, and we were ridiculously privileged to work with such an amazing group of people.

Day 1 started on a little island in the Zambezi River, and our crew had left Cape Town at 6am that morning. They flew to Joburg, then on to Victoria Falls airport where I met them with Rob and my family, and then we started a 2 hour trek into the bush. After the massive overland truck that carried all our gear around the country got stuck en route (see bright, blue ‘Big Anne’, pictured), and arrived at about 10pm, we had to then start ferrying 4 huge boatloads of stuff across and unpacking and sorting in the dark, until well past midnight. And that night, before heading to bed knowing we were due to start shooting in just a few hours, I remember being struck by the attitude of the crew. Not once during the craziness of the day did I hear anyone complain, there was nothing but cheerfulness and professionalism and an inspiring sense of adventure, and that never wavered, from Day 1 to the last (and I’m talking 14 hour days, more kit than you can shake a stick at, sourcing ingredients in the middle of the bush, carting a full-sized stove and cooking station and all the pots and pans and cooking paraphernalia wherever we went). And for that I am so massively grateful I can hardly find the words, and so excited about what we have made together.

Also, don’t think for one second that I could do one single minute of work without the completely overwhelming support of my family – my parents trekked all over the countryside with us offering incredible logistical support, and so much love and care to Rob and I and our girls. Rob zig-zagged madly between work in Joburg and filming in various locations, picked up the slack more times than I can count, and did it with his usual cheer and lots of beaming pride and smiling eyes, he’s a legend. And we couldn’t have even thought about getting from A to B without the immense help of Pete and Precious Bhasa, our extended family.

I’ll get into more behind-the-scenes fun stuff in upcoming posts, but for now I wanted to share excerpts from the official media release that has gone out in the last few days, so that you’re up to speed, and so that you know when you can tune in and catch us on screen!

Okuhle Media completes production of Sarah Graham’s Food Safari to premiere on M-Net in November

Cape Town –Filmed by leading local TV Production Company, Okuhle Media and hosted by local food blogger and cookbook author, Sarah Graham, “Sarah Graham’s Food Safari” is set to take M-Net viewers on an ambitious food safari across Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa as part of the Channel’s local content strategy to celebrate the festive season.

In her latest TV Show for M-Net, Sarah takes her kitchen on the road and proves that anything’s possible with the right ingredients. Sponsored by Food Lover’s Market and supported by Defy, Suzuki, Drostdy Hof, Nespresso, Valpre, Chocolat Frey and Lancewood, the new 10-part Series sees Sarah unlock an entirely new repertoire of adventurous recipes that she cooks in the great outdoors for friends and family, which include some unexpected wildlife encounters along the way.

Sarah, who launched her third cook book, ‘Home. Food From My Kitchen’ earlier this year believes that the Series is her most personal and fun-filled yet. “Cooking in such unique, unspoilt corners of Africa was a magical experience for myself, my family, and the crew. The nature of the production demanded we operate as a tight and united team, which made it extremely special. We cooked delicious, simple food outdoors in the bush in almost every episode, which included breathtakingly beautiful backdrops that were often dotted with elephants and giraffe, and even lions on occasion. I hope that viewers will love being part of our Food Safari journey.”

Directed by the SAFTA winning Director, Chris Lotz, the 14-strong crew (which included two cameramen and a sound technician) were on the road just short of eight weeks, and succeeding in traversing 31 separate locations across Zimbabwe, Zambia, Johannesburg, the Karoo and Garden Route before finally ending the gourmet road trip in Cape Town.

Catch “Sarah Graham’s Food Safari” weekly on M-Net (DStv Channel 101) from Sunday, 29 November between 6pm and 7pm. If you miss the premiere broadcast, you can catch up on Mondays at 4.30pm and Saturdays at 11am.

Note: All photos by Ricardo de Leça (and with thanks!)