Kosher Dining at The River Club

• Kosher Kitchen 1 is an affordable option aimed at groups as small as 1 person, up to 10 guests. It serves excellent kosher cuisine prepared by lodge staff trained in kosher catering. 
• Kosher Kitchen 2 is for those who wish to have their Kosher food preparation overseen by a Mashgiach. It is sealed after use and no one is allowed in during the interim. Expenses are higher due to hire, accommodation, travel and transfer expenses of the Mashgiach (who travels to Livingstone from Johannesburg, South Africa), and usually shared between members of larger groups. 
• Beef and lamb are specially imported by the lodge from Nussbaums Butchery in South Africa. Delicious fresh whole skin-on Zambezi Bream comes from a fish farm nearby. Sadly, kosher chicken is not available in Zambia. Fresh vegetables and fruit are seasonal and in plentiful local supply. All dairy products are kosher, purchased locally, so some items are subject to availability. 

How it works

• The River Club has not one, but TWO separate dedicated Kosher kitchens. All kosher catering is done separately and not in the main lodge kitchen at all.
• Here at the lodge, we are used to kosher guests wishing to inspect the kosher kitchen and asking to light the gas before cooking starts.
• The River Club frequently takes care of guests over Shabbat and the lodge knows what these guests need.
• The River Club has kosher wine in stock. It is a premium brand and cost is US$40 per bottle. Due to limited availability in Zambia, we stock Backsberg Chardonnay and Merlot only, however, we are able to occasionally bring up Cape Jewel from South Africa. 
• Juice is Liqui Fruit Apple which is kosher. We are always scouting for anything kosher on the local shelves that we didn’t know was there before, so if we find any other kosher juices, we snap these up as well. Liqui Fruit Apple is one we know is usually in stock.
• Breakfast consists of a buffet with fruit, muffins, yoghurt (when we can get kosher yoghurt) and cereals. Guests also order whatever they like for a hot meal. Guests usually eat from the buffet and from the hot menu combined. Kosher breakfasts are set out with things like the cereal boxes intact so guests can see that they are kosher products.
• The lodge has a lunch menu and daily dinner menu, but kosher guests don’t eat off the lodge menu. We have found preparing kosher menus does not work, so the Head Chef (who is an expert on Kosher catering), talks to guests, tells them what he has available at the time, and they can then decide what they want on their plates and whether a meal is parev or milchik.
• The Kosher Food itself: Raisin Rib Beef and Lamb Chops are specially imported by the lodge from Nussbaums Butcher in South Africa. It is 100% Glatt Kosher. Delicious fresh whole skin-on Zambezi Bream comes from a fish farm nearby. Sadly, kosher chicken is not available in Zambia. Fresh vegetables and fruit are seasonal and in plentiful local supply. All dairy products are kosher, purchased locally, so some items are subject to availability at the time of stay.
• Kosher food storage in the main lodge pantry is kept separate from other stocks in dedicated fridges, freezers and shelf-space.
  10. Guest room doors lock with keys and that is because we are still quite old-fashioned by choice. This is not going to change and it’s handy that it suits kosher guests too!

Find out more by downloading our Kosher Catering Fact Sheet or contact us at reservations@theriverclubzambia.com