It is with some sadness and a lot of joy that I bring you the news that our much revered Executive Chef, Anna Ridgewell (Chefanna), has decided to substitute her bush life for a beach life.
Anna, during her almost 9 year reign over the cuisine offerings at Londolozi, brought a whole new level of excellence to the theatre of bush banqueting. They say that a picture tells a thousand words, so…
Some of Anna’s ‘Simply Sophisticated’ dishes….
In truth Anna will never leave the Londolozi family as she will forever remain a most valued member of our alumni and a global ambassador for Londolozi.
Beyond her extraordinary culinary skills, ‘Chefanna’ worked side-by-side with, and as a true mentor to her remarkable kitchen team. To cajole, to admonish, to teach and to inspire excellence in all that was created over many years, Anna managed to handle the daily complexity of producing meals at multiple locations around the African wilderness, to a variety of ever-changing personal dietary requirements. Anna remarkably found time to warmly welcome and entertain expansively the many guests and friends who visited and returned over the years … many drawn by the allure of Anna’s special and unique food creations. Anna also spent her time on birthday treats for the Londolozi Family, trainee ranger’s sneaky lunch packs on their training bush walks and chocolate chip cookies and famous birthday cakes for the children.
We always used to joke with Anna saying that her true calling was to be on stage as she repeatedly produced unimaginable food theatre at every occasion.
Whether it was nights under stars at remote safari locations, Londolozi’s signature camp fire bomas, decks or wine cellars – ‘Chefanna’ was the choreographer of the drama and invented the meaning of ‘food for theatre’ or perhaps better said ‘the theatre of food’. Anna over the years has worked with 56 chefs and has received 834 Matumi food orders. She has looked after 49307 guests, meaning 46 wine cellars, 2 493 bush-banqueting events, which in total comes to around half a million meals… not to mention 8 legendary New Year’s Eve celebrations, Christmas Eve dinners and Easter Picnics. To name a few:
New Year’s Eve
Easter
Christmas Eve
Anna was at the forefront of the construction of the newly designed kitchen as part of the Londolozi 2020 Vision, a multidimensional philosophy, which introduced Londolozi to a new era, beyond a safari lodge. The 2020 Vision is for Londolozi to become a place that should inspire a profound desire for all to live in deeper connection with each other and the natural world. This vision is now well established at Londolozi.
This 2020 Vision has also carried itself into the Londolozi village gardens, where Anna has played an important role in encouraging people to grow their own greens to then be used in the Londolozi kitchen and finally presented to our guests.
So it is indeed with sadness that in November we say farewell to Anna but it is also with joy that we send her on her new adventure in the knowledge that her teachings and her mentorship will remain with the Londolozi Family. Her many hours dedicated to the Good Work Foundation fundraising with the Sarasota team and the Relais & Châteaux Africa Food delegation will remain as her legacy to Londolozi.
The biennial Londolozi and Good Work Foundation’s fundraising dinner with the team at Safari Sarasota
Anna has also been sharing her ‘simply sophisticated’ dishes with us through Londolozi’s Lockdown Larder which allowed her to keep in touch with guests from around the world and share her love for cuisine:
- Green Soup
- Seafood paella
- Cookies and crunchies
- Coffee and red wine braised short ribs
- The Caesar salad
- Calamari and Aioli
- Bran muffins
- Cheesecake
- The perfect pizza
- The humble frittata
- The 1926 burger
- The plant-based burger
- Ice cream
The brilliant home-grown Londolozi kitchen team over the years…
To last years New Year’s bash – Studio 54
And on behalf of a very grateful Londolozi family we will miss you and the excellence and warmth you brought to caring for our guests and we all we look forward to her return as a treasured Londolozi alumni.
Anna, we will certainly miss the Chef Anna experience when we return, but so appreciate the personal attention you always gave us as well as your dedication to our Safari Sarasota events to raise funds for the Good Work Foundation via our All Heart Fund honoring Leanna Knopik.
https://blog.londolozi.com/2019/11/21/the-londolozi-gwf-sarasota-connection/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=sharpspring&sslid=MzMysTAxNzQ0NTIzBwA&sseid=M7SwNLMwNzcwtQQA&jobid=61ad6174-1992-4036-b14b-87c51b03b7de
Thank you Vin & Michele – i won’t be too far away from Safari Sarasota! x
PERFECT!
Good luck!
Dear Chef Anna, we wish you nothing but success in your future career. It was an absolute pleasure to have met you multiple times during our beloved Londolozi stays. And because you have been kind enough to share your crunchy recipe with us a while ago, we enjoyed many ‘Londolozi’ mornings at home thanks to you with coffee in one hand and the delicious crunchy’s in the other.
Thank you very much and all our best,
Frank & Charlotte Tueckmantel
Thank you both so much!
Anna you will be missed. Good luck with your new adventure.
Thank you Marinda
Gosh we will miss you Anna!! Hope to still see you there next weekend?! 😘
Yes i will!
Dave, I loved all the photos🤗
Anna surprise us with her leaving
Oh Anna,
What can I say , I’m so sorry you are leaving and we won’t see you next year when we, fingers crossed return to Londolozi. You have always made it so special for Russ and I when ever we have visited. Good luck in your new career and I will miss you. Keep in touch
Karen xxx
Thank you Karen for your message. We will still be in touch 🙂
Oh Anna, you will be truly missed by your Londolozi family as well by the countless guests that have enjoyed every morsel of food developed and prepared by your staff under your guidance and love. I feel as though I’m just getting to know you, inspired by your Lockdown Larder recipes to break out of my SIP menu doldrums- those crunchies live forever in my cupboard! I’ll miss seeing you next April for Easter but know you’ll be someplace wonderful creating another Spring feast! Keep well and I raise a glass of bubbly to celebrate your future endeavor!👏👏
Thank you Denise
Dear Anna
We truly will miss the Chef Anna experience at Londolozi! You brought beauty and love through the food That you created. Wishing you the very best on your journey onwards!
Thank you Kara!
Many thanks Chefanna for your amazing cuisine. Best wishes for your next adventure.
Thank you Mark
Anna, we’re really going to miss you. Any discussion about Londolozi inevitably includes the amazing food put on by you and your wonderful team. Good luck with your new endeavours. The Houghton family.
Thank you The Houghtons! What fun we’ve had!
we have soooo many delicious meals at Londolozi and a tour of the kitchen and a fabulous dinner on the bush!! we est such delicious meals and yet I manage not to gain weight as long as we don’t eat too many ice creams. The yogurt with the fruit mixture is perfect for breakfast, not to mention the wonderful seed bread with the honey mixture. Above all thank you for the wonderful dinner in the bush you and Helen organized for us ! It was special as well as delicious. We will miss you but wish you the best in your adventure and hope some day to see you. Thank you a thousand times for all your hard work to feed us so well!! 💕 Victoria
Thank you Victoria – such lovely memories we have
God bless you, Anna! Thank you for all the delicious calories and ensuring that the plane home was heavier than when it came. Be well!
ha ha! Thank you Kiki
Simply irreplaceable. Absolutely privileged to have enjoyed two trips to Londolozi and “Chefanna” made both magical. Godspeed our dear friend, and we hope to see you in 🇺🇸 🇿🇦 🇿🇼 soon. Much love, Todd & Jennifer Martin Scottsdale, AZ
Thank you Todd & Jennifer – we will continue to stay in touch! Hope you’re both well and the cold isn’t there yet!
Dave, What a beautiful tribute to Anna or “ChefAnna” as we know her in Sarasota! It was at Londolozi several years ago with a group of our Gulf Coast Connoisseur Club guests, that we kept introducing her as Chef Anna. Well, one of our special friends – Tom Koski – misunderstood and thought I was saying her name as ChefAnna (Chevanna!) The rest is history! 😉
Anna joined us in Sarasota for our first three Safari events (2015, 2017, 2019) helping raise over $500,000 for the Good Work Foundation to date through our All Heart Fund. We even sold her special chef jacket off her back at the auction! We have been blessed to host Kate Groch, you & Boyd, famed GWF Leanna Knopik Cup winners and even some of the Londolozi rangers over the years. We have been fortunate to have Anna use us as tester-drivers for some of her most special safari meals, and many of her recipes have made it into our Michael’s On East restaurant menus over the years. Every visit to Londolozi has seen the elevation of the creative cuisine – that is presented so beautifully at every turn! The addition of the new kitchen took the possibilities to a whole new level – clearly Londolozi’s 5-star cuisine and hospitality is the best on the continent.
As much as we will miss seeing Anna at Londolozi, the legacy of her time there will live on as inspiration for those who follow her as Executive Chef. The culinary team that you and Anna have cultivated is incredible and we know they are up for the task.
We know that Anna will continue to amaze us in her next great adventure and wish her the best of luck! We feel like she is part of our family too.
With love and appreciation to ChefAnna!
Michael & Terri (and The All Heart Fund family and supporters)
Here is a link to a Londolozi blog after one of our Sarasota events:
https://blog.londolozi.com/2017/11/26/what-is-safari-sarasota-now-a-200-000-safari/
Thank you – we will still be in touch as you know! Thank you for all the Safari Sarasota’s and good friends and memories made over these many years. x
Sad to hear this but ‘hamba kahle’ and for me personally….we were to have been at Londolozi in November but because of the pandemic we are now scheduled for 2021. So we won’t have to bid that farewell from Londolozi in person trying not to be sad. I know it will be spirited and full of love and appreciation for all Anna has done.
Thank you Judith!
All the very best wishes on your new adventures Chef Anna! I’ve very much enjoyed your posts during the pandemic, and hope you are excited about your new opportunities!
Thank you Paul! And for all your support on the Lockdown Larders! Look forward to keeping in touch
Yes, please do keep in touch! Londolozi has my email, so please keep it and we can stay in touch that way. You can also find me on Instagram @duendepaul and you can see a lot of the food I make for my restaurant Duende. Again, wishing you the very best… I know you’re going to smash it!!!
Bob and I are so very sad to learn of your departure, Anna! During our past 5 visits, we have dined like royalty thanks to you and your staff – toasted and feasted in river beds and on granite, delighted in BBQ bush pizzas, celebrated meaningful days in our lives up high in a treetop with a hamper of the most delicious, tasty surprises and in an intimate wine cellar, shared some fabulous G + T’s with you on drive and so much more. You will truly be missed by this California couple; Londolozi will be missing something without you. You are wished much love and luck in your new life adventures!
Thank you both. Thank you for all the lovely times and many memories made. I look forward to keeping in touch. Stay well
What a wonderful tribute! Good luck Chef Anna in your next chapter.
I will miss your posts and pictures of tasting dishes. .. it was so uplifting! Thank you Anna take care of yourselves
Thank you Francesca!
Dear Anna I have always enjoyed the wonderful food at Londolozi! One of my favourites is your breakfast muesli, I have never tasted any better . And unforgettable your dinners under star light and the great Bush picknicks. Thanks so much! I wish you all the best in your new job.
Thank you Christa! The muesli will live on forever at Londolozi!
Oh my. I was a heavy heart that we write to you. You have not only been a superb mentor and cuisine master extraordinaire to your creations and your team, you have been one of the first people we want to hug when we return to Londolozi. Your attention to detail, including how you treat all guests, has been priceless. We wish you well in your new endeavours but want you to know you will be sorely missed by all…including us. Love, hugs and all the best, Lucie and Bob
Thank you both. I have handed over to my chefs to make sure you have more hugs on your next visit! Keep in touch x
Such a nice tribute to the incomparable contributions that Anna made to the Londolozi experience. I remember asking Anna to join me on a game drive. During the drinks stop our conversation turned to “what would be your ideal last meal?” Lo and behold, the following evening Anna arranged a bush dinner for me with all of the dishes I mentioned. Such a kind person!
Thank you Al and for your message. I will always remember that wild dog afternoon extravaganza! Keep in touch x
The food at Londolozi was a triumph . Hoping all goes well for Anna.
Big shoes to follow
Thank you Ian
Anna, Though I have never had the pleasure of meeting you and enjoying your gastronomic creations, reading what you have accomplished over the 9 years at Londolozi is astounding! I’m sure you will go on to be a huge success in your next venture. Wishing you much luck and all that you deserve. 🙏❤️Cally
Thank you Cally!
You are a legend Anna. Thank you for all that you have done (and will continue to do I know) for people. AND, for all that you have done for GWF, there are no words. Keep the smiles coming 🙂
Anna, Even though I was at Londolozi only once, I have followed you through the blogs and think of you as a friend. I thoroughly enjoyed all the wonderful food when at Londolozi and know your loving hands had a play in their abundance. I was looking forward to seeing you in 2021 in Sarasota as I have a winter home in Fort Myers. I was unable to make 2019’s event, but I hope to attend Safari Sarasota and will look forward to meeting the new chef, (hopefully it will still take place), but am saddened that you will not be there. Wishing you the best that life offers in your new location.
Success Chefanna, I also enjoyed your foodblogs. And I love the gardens………….
Thank you Marinda
We will miss you a lot dear Anna.! Thank you for your fabulous contribution to the success of Londolozi. Your expertise and kindness have been immensely appreciated. Best wishes for your new future experience. Love.