Sure Travel Journey Vol 4.1 Summer 2018 | Page 10

DEPARTURE LOUNGE // SUMMER 2018
Elephant encounter at Mana Pools. Follow more of Scott Ramsay’s
incredible work at www.lovewildafrica.com
INSTAMUNCH
@farrelhirsch
“I love stepping out of my comfort zone – I’m
always excited by the idea of the unknown,”
says chef Farrel Hirsch. “Nothing beats going
to a foreign country, where no one speaks
English, and pointing at the dish being eaten
at the table next to you, and ordering that.
Not to taste is not to know.”
He’s brought this adventurous travel
philosophy to the menu of View, the flagship
restaurant of the Four Seasons Hotel The
Westcliff in Johannesburg, where the
Durban-born chef now heads up the kitchen.
“If you look closely enough at View’s dishes
there will always be a classic thought behind
them, but pushed out far enough that it is
something completely new,” he explains of
the dishes he conjures up and posts to his
Instagram feed.
While View is his first time as head chef,
it’s not Hirsch’s first rodeo. After a stint in
Europe Hirsch returned to South Africa a few
years ago and joined the culinary team at
the Grill Room Restaurant at the prestigious
Oyster Box Hotel in his hometown. He then
moved on to the equally highbrow Singita
group of luxury lodges before hitting the
culinary capital of Africa: Cape Town. Here
he worked with Peter Tempelhoff at the
acclaimed Greenhouse Restaurant, before
seconding Africa’s most globally recognised
chef, Luke Dale-Roberts – he of The Test
Kitchen fame (awarded Top Restaurant in
South Africa at the Eat Out Awards from 2012
to 2016).
Hirsch has learnt from the best that
it’s all about the ingredients, and finding
the best is part of the fun and adventure
for him. He shares his hunt for the juciest
foraged mushrooms, Karoo lamb and
fynbos on Instagram. Follow him for
tummy-rumbling inspiration.
10 // MAKE MEMORIES FOR LIFE
WHERE IN THE WORLD?
The
Galapagos!
Located 1 000km off the coast of
Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean, the
Galapagos is a nature lover’s delight. The
volcanic string of islands is one of the
most biodiverse regions on Earth and
home to unique creatures such as the
starry night nudibranch and the marine
iguana, the only lizard capable of foraging
in the sea.
The Galapagos was, of course, made
famous by Charles Darwin after he visited
the islands on his round-the-world voyage
on the HMS Beagle in 1835. Darwin would
later go on to base much of his research
that proved evolution on his observations
of the species that he studied there.
The Galapagos’ incredible biodiversity
can be attributed to their isolation and
the variety of habitats found there, from
volcanic wastelands to lush jungles and
tropical reefs. Although literally found
in the middle of the ocean, the islands
are part of Ecuador and have become a
premiere tourist attraction for anyone
© ADOBESTOCK
© ADOBESTOCK
Bartolomé Island in the Galapagos.
travelling to the Pacific coast of South
America. This wasn’t always the case,
however.
Between 1900-1925 cash-strapped
Ecuador tried to sell the islands several
times, with Chile and the USA showing
interest as potential buyers (both
countries recognised the islands’ strategic
advantage as naval bases in the Pacific
Ocean). Fortunately for Ecuador, the
sale never went through. The Galapagos
became a national park in 1959, tourism
took off and it became the crown jewel
of Ecuador’s natural attractions, creating
a legacy of which Darwin would be proud.