Reviews of Onsea House

We are keen to make sure that the properties we feature are as ethically-minded as possible, using local materials wherever they can. So we were concerned about these comments, and contacted Onsea House.

They told us that they do use imported Kenyan beef and New Zealand lamb, to maintain top standards for their meat dishes. However they also source as much as they can locally – and noted that they serve both meats with fresh local vegetables, including some rare local varieties (which they assure us are rarely served in any lodges). It’s clear that Onsea are very proud of their mix of French-Belgian cuisine with traditional Tanzanian flavours.

They also noted that their desserts do include imported ingredients, like Belgian chocolate, although observe that this itself was made with African cacao beans! They also use locally-produced export-quality products which range from strawberries, raspberries and cashew nuts – plus top-quality (imported) Madagascar vanilla and the freshest locally-produced pineapples and mangos.

They commented that their wine list features the best South African wines, plus a small selection of other wines from France, Italy and Spain for connoisseurs who prefer such bottles. Guests are not forced to drink 'Italian fizzy water' and have the option to choose locally-bottled water. The Janssens-Onsea family are sorry if this alternative wasn’t made clear to these travellers.

They observe that the 'advertisement in a free tourist magazine' probably refers to an article written in the “Swahili Coast”, which notes that they have limited access to Western-standard produce – and hence do use imported Kenyan beef, New Zealand lamb and Belgian chocolate.

However they advise that they don’t import "a wide range of basic ingredients" from abroad, and don’t know where this misunderstanding has come from