We have experienced one of the greatest luxuries! Leopold cooks for us 1.5 days a week. Prior to his arrival, we have been planning all meals and grocery shopping, which is incredibly time consumering, since many things cannot be found in the stores and even in the very best situations, we have to go to more than one to find all the ingredients. This has been especially trying for Dina since she has to arrange for a duty driver to pick her up and drive her around.
Leopold is originally from Togo. He has cooked for a high-ranking French embassy employee in the past. A Canadian meteorologist then hired him until he left and our neighbors who moved in to that house didn't need him full time so we decided to try him and see if we wanted to share his services.
His first day with us, he made baked fish in a herb cream sauce, served with a salad in which he cut the carrots and cucumbers into flower shapes and concocted a tangy mustard vinegrette dressing. Both were delicious! For dessert, he made homemade chocolate ice cream. Tell me you wouldn't want him to cook for you! He also made three pizzas and chicken enchiladas, plus a fruit salad with melon, pineapple, and grapefruit. He also shopped for all the ingredients and bought extra fruit and vegetables, milk, and eggs for us to last the week.
Last night, we had a soupy beef stew with vegetables and garbanzo beans to pour over couscous. He also made delicious Capitan (fish) brochettes in a salty lime marinade served with homemade french fries and salad. Anorexics beware!
The other important point to make is that he's nice. All of our hired help are. The way he smiles when we talk about food. The dishes he describes that he'd like to make. His suggestions and ideas for meals and presentation really show his artistry. There are other cooks here. We are fortunate in that we found a great one.