EVENTS

  • El Karama Lodge

    Laikipia, Kenya
    10-15th October 2025
    $12,000 per head
    (or GBP based on daily exchange rate)

    With guest chef Santiago Lastra

    Mexican born Santiago has had a remarkable career to date, and it’s only just beginning. At his London restaurant KOL (ranked no17 on the World’s 50 Best list, the highest in the UK), he celebrates Mexican culture’s vibrancy and rich heritage through a contemporary lens. He uses produce meticulously sourced from around the British Isles and through unbridled curiosity and dedication blends them to perfect Michelin-starred effect.

    His travels around the world, both with Noma and his extensive pop-up series have never taken him to Africa so we are delighted to be able to create this unique collaboration.

    Santiago joins host and chef Valentine Warner, bartender extraordinaire Nick Strangeway, internationally acclaimed animator and model maker Jim Parkyn (whose creations include Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep for Aardman Animations) and botanist, guide and author Anne Powys, one of Kenya’s foremost experts in the indigenous plants of East Africa.

  • El Karama Lodge

    Laikipia, Kenya
    17-22nd October 2025
    $12,000 per head
    (or GBP based on daily exchange rate)

    With guest chef Jackson Boxer

    Prolific London chef and restaurateur Jackson has somewhat of a cult following. Opening a 10 seat counter at Brunswick House at just 23 years old, he now splits his time between Notting Hill’s Orasay, the much grown and loved Brunswick, Cowley Manor, Jackson Boxer at The Corner and most recently to open, Henri in Covent Garden.

    Jackson is a talented and instinctual cook, full of natural and creative flair. Give him an ingredient and a myriad of tasty ideas will pour forth. His sleight of hand is just as happy near glowing embers as kitchen gadgets making him a highly adaptable chef so suited for Kenya. He’s great company too.

    Jackson joins host and chef Valentine Warner, bartender extraordinaire Nick Strangeway, internationally acclaimed animator and model maker Jim Parkyn (whose creations include Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep for Aardman Animations) and botanist, guide and author Anne Powys, one of Kenya’s foremost experts in the indigenous plants of East Africa.

What to expect

Offering an immersive food experience like no other, guests will be side by side with world class chefs for five days, experiencing the Kenyan bush, its prolific wildlife and the spellbinding feeling of being absorbed in the surrounding savannah.

While the days can be as busy or slow as guests choose, the numerous activities include driving and walking safaris across the conservancy with expert local guides, cooking and cocktail masterclasses, art workshops, foraging expeditions, horse riding*, river fishing, tours of the farm and kitchen gardens and bush spa treatments*. When it's time to relax, there are two swimming pools in which to float while giraffes or elephant amble by.

As the sun melts into a golden dusk, sundowners and bitings (canapés) will be served in a number of different spots such as under the acacia tree looking out over the jaw-dropping vastness of the Laikipia plateau. Raise one of Nick's martinis to passing zebras. Guests will then gather around the communal table for a celebratory feast cooked by the guest chefs, and share stories of the day's adventures under twinkling candlelight and the heavenly star spray of the Kenyan night sky.

Drift off to sleep in one of the super comfortable thatch and canvas rooms, to the wonderful sounds of the Laikipia night and wake up to Val's favourite; the bush breakfast.

A note on the food: by inviting this calibre of chefs into new landscapes never previously travelled, the introduction of new ingredients inevitably results in the most exciting and collaborative cooking. Mexican techniques may be coupled with tree tomatoes, ugali corn and local goat sizzling over wood smoke. Chefs imaginations run wild in such scenarios, and so truly unique menus are created.

*not included in the ticket price.

Why El Karama

With a way of life that’s a considerable far cry from the pampered western day to day, the dramatic landscapes of Laikipia, Kenya certainly offer up the visceral beauty and analogue setting that we seek. It is a land of adventure and stories while offering a myriad of activities and stunning open spaces as yet untarnished by modern sprawl. 

El Karama Lodge and Wildlife Conservancy, in the foothills of Mt Kenya, with its open bush, rolling plains, winding river and stunning views is breathtaking. We chose it for its architecture and sympathetic position within the landscape. We were drawn to its self-sufficiency, its sustainable approach to cooking, its dairy farm and vegetable gardens, its artistic community and the passion and vision of its owners.

Incredible night skies are filled with the noises of nocturnal nature, the days hearing only the breeze and birdsong. This is the most fabulous place any guest could come to eat, make and reset. So come and let us look after you in this untamed Eden.