David Saffery

David Saffery was born in South Africa and brought up there and in London. His family’s varied life, over six generations in different parts of the continent, informs THE THORN TREE KITCHEN: BRITISH RECIPES FROM AFRICA. Based on extensive original research and breaking new ground on virtually every page, this is an exceptional book. Half history and half recipes, it conjures up the different dishes and tastes of British food across Africa from 1880 to 1965.

David speaks Zulu, Swati and Ndebele and is currently completing a degree in African History.

In 1999 he was invited to oversee the reopening of the public restaurants and foyers in the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. By 2001 he was managing 32 different bars, restaurants and banqueting rooms, some of which he created himself. As with the Opera House, so with THE THORN TREE KITCHEN. David likes to work on a grand scale.