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By
Mary Caldwell
Location: Animal Kingdom Lodge, Lake Buena Vista, Florida Units: Seats: 256 Region: Florida Description: cucumber, tomato and red onion salad with watermelon vinaigrette wood-grilled filet mignon with macaroni and cheese and red wine sauce; berbere-braised lamb shank with toasted couscous, baby spinach and berbere sauce; pan-roasted, maize-crusted halibut with “vegetables of the moment,” tomato-butter sauce and crispy sweet potatoes Entrée prices: $25 – $33 Developers: Anette Grecchi Gray, chef de cuisine Building a bridge from Africa to Florida would be one awesome feat of engineering. But Jiko — The Cooking Place, the fine-dining restaurant at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, does just that, with chef de cuisine Anette Grecchi Gray and her staff creating a culinary “bridge” for some 500 guests nightly. Gray oversees a menu that brings African flavors, aromas and cooking techniques to central Florida. Although she joined Jiko a few months after its opening in 2001, Gray has been with Disney for 10 years and was involved in the planning stages for Jiko. In 1999 she traveled to Africa for Disney to learn more about the continent’s food. Gray describes the trip, during which she worked with top South African chefs and visited lodges in the bush, as “life-altering.” She was impressed with the seasonality and freshness of the cuisine balanced against the need in remote lodges for pantries well-stocked with peas, lentils, grains and dried beans to tide the menu over when trucks of fresh products couldn’t get through. “The food that was put out in those lodges was just so incredibly innovative that I just fell in love with it,” Gray says. “What we are trying to do at Jiko,” she explains, “is create an atmosphere where our guests will feel comfortable and they will find items on our menu that they are familiar with. We cook familiar foods with an African twist, is really how I like to describe that.” As an example, Gray cites Jiko’s chermoula-roasted chicken, which blends the familiar concept of chicken and mashed potatoes with an African-spiced dish that includes preserved lemon, roasted garlic and kalamata olives. The menu’s African twist incorporates details from indigenous cooking as well as influences from the European and Indian settlers who have left their culinary marks on the continent. “A lot of our items are taken from what is being cooked in Africa and just made a little bit more upscale,” Gray says. “In general the African cuisine, be it Mediterranean, be it influenced by India or be it tribal cuisine, is very, very simple and basic. What we are doing is making it look pretty. We use those ideas of the basic cuisine and make it look pretty and taste great. “I like to call our type of cuisine very fragrant and aromatic and really help our guests understand that it is not spicy,” she adds. “Just because we use a lot of spices doesn’t mean our food is hot; it means it is fragrant and aromatic.” Gray says that wood grilling and braising — cooking techniques widely used in Africa — are important at Jiko. Two wood-burning ovens figure prominently in the restaurant’s design. And while the venue obviously is a tourist destination, Jiko also enjoys local support, with about 20 percent of its business coming from nearby residents. Jiko earns high praise from Patricia Letakis, senior editor for Florida Travel & Life Magazine, who credits the restaurant’s success partly to its location, partly to its ability to present a fine-dining experience that is also welcoming for children and greatly to its food. “Anette Grecchi Gray has delved into the culture and history and the indigenous ingredients of Africa,” she says. “She has traveled the continent and has pulled together concepts and ingredients and has created new African cuisine; it’s very good. “I just can’t say enough about the chef,” Letakis continues. “I think she is one of the best chefs in the Orlando area. She is very creative using unusual ingredients that really make the dishes.” “[Jiko] has broad-based customer appeal but some innovation at the same time. It mirrors the concept of the resort itself,” says Clifford Pleau, director of culinary development for Orlando-based Seasons 52. He also represented Disney on the 1999 trip to Africa. “I think that once people step into the Animal Kingdom Lodge, it would be a real buzz-kill if there were some [chain] restaurant that didn’t match,” he adds. “Disney is all about the experience. Jiko…is exactly what it should be. It makes that transition for their guests into the world of Africa complete.” Jiko carries South African wines exclusively and has an extensive wine list. Dieter Hannig, senior vice president of food and beverage for Walt Disney World Resort, credits Jiko area manager and sommelier Stephen Shepherd for making the wine program successful and maintaining close relationships with small South African wineries. Jiko periodically runs wine dinners to showcase South African wines. What’s next for Jiko? Hannig looks toward expanding the menu with dishes from the Indian Ocean islands off the east coast of Africa — such as Zanzibar, the Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar — which offer “magnificent” cuisine influenced by local ingredients and centuries of being criss-crossed by international traders and travelers. “This is an Africa which most of people don’t know, and it’s exotic. From a culinary point it’s one of the untouched toy boxes,” Hannig says. “We’re going to go and explore this and we’re really going to bring it to the next level. To us, it is really exciting.” |
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