
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, May 28, 1990                   TAG: 9005260304
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E-3   EDITION: HOLIDAY 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: HARARE, ZIMBABWE                                LENGTH: Medium

THIS CUISINE IS LIKE A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

Boiled elephant trunk has not been a big hit. But crocodile tail, roasted warthog and hippo burgers are being snapped up by tourists on the African circuit who want a menu as exotic as the surroundings.

"Tourists like to return home and boast they ate a crocodile. It's better than the other way around," says Jan de Haast, a director of Zimbabwe's Sun Hotel chain.

Ever sensitive to tourist appetites - and the revenues they generate - hotels, safari lodges and bush camps are heeding the call of the wild when it comes to cuisine.

Hungry for a little snack? Safari guide Garth Thompson of Harare suggests flying ants fried in fat from their own oily wings. "Just like popcorn," he says.

Quelea, a native bird smaller than a quail, makes a nice casserole, as do field mice, according to Thompson. If that's not enough to make the mouth water, there are the succulent caterpillars found on the indigenous mopani tree. Best when fresh, Thompson says, but just fine sun-dried.

He also recommends spicing up the local cornmeal staple, a porridge known as sadza, with grasshopper gravy.

Then there's Marc Cosyns, the Belgian-born head chef at Harare's Sheraton Hotel. Listing his menu offerings, he sounds like a cross between Julia Child and "Wild Kingdom."

His roast warthog, he says a bit immodestly, is very nice indeed. "The legs, roasted with mint or applesauce, are particularly good," he says.

Not every wild food idea works out.

Elephant trunk, hotelier de Haast concedes regretfully, presents problems even for the most resourceful of chefs.

For one thing, the average six-foot trunk is tough and muscular, takes six hours to boil and frankly isn't all that tasty. For another, few diners want to confront a pair of nostrils on their plate.

"It just looks too unappetizing," says de Haast. "The idea was doomed from the beginning."

One menu standard is African antelope, such as kudu and eland. The flavor is similar to that of venison.

"Game meat needs only simple preparation to bring out its delicate taste," says Cosyns. "It can be tough, so you marinate it first and serve it with a sauce, like garlic, mint, bernaise or marsala."

Little of the exotic food served up to tourists is actually killed in the wild, however. Much of it is farm-bred.

John White, a top official of the Harare-based Wildlife Producers Association, says the association's 460 members try to conserve wildlife by breeding species like zebra, waterbuck and white rhinoceros for food, hunting or game viewing.

Most game dishes sell for about the same price as ordinary fare, although crocodile is a bit more expensive. It's much in demand, though.

The pinkish-white meat, from the tails of young crocodiles, tastes a little like lobster. Or maybe chicken. Anyway, it can be grilled, broiled or smoked and served with wild mushroom sauce, cornmeal patties or rice.

If all this sounds a little unappetizing, Harare writer Sam Munyavi says, consider some of the icons of French cuisine. Escargot. Frog's legs.

"One man's meat is another man's poison," Munyavi says. "Frogs - yech."

by CNB