Namibia’s luxury train is a wellknown tourist attraction. It won the Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN) Gold Certificate last month. The Desert Express now receives world famous status through a BBC television series, featuring the luxury train on 17 June with a world premiere of The Gourmet Girls.

According to Ms Anita Witt, manager of the Desert Express, it was hard work and great fun to do preparations for the BBC film crew. “We really enjoyed it and they loved the train, TransNamib did its utmost to accommodate them and Air Namibia was also most helpful, as well as the Swakopmund camels, who became film stars.”

The Gourmet Girls, devised by Cotton Road TV Productions and starring Cape-Town based chefs Kirsty Ratcliffe, Paula Nel and Tracy Foulkes, is a new six-part series filmed entirely in Southern Africa with a local production company and crew. The programme has its premiere on BBC FOOD on 17June 2003 and Namibians with satellite connections can watch it on the DSTV television channel toether with millions of viewers worldwide. The first episode is about the girls’ trip through Namibia with the luxury train Desert Express.

Paula, Tracy and Kirsty, the 3 South African chefs work individually in kitchens in London and Cape Town. But they also have a more mysterious role in life. “When the phone rings, they come together as the Gourmet Girls, to perform a vital job for society by rescuing ordinary people from culinary disaster”, the BBC announced in its newsletter. When they are on a mission, they slip into their Gourmet Girls outfits and set off as super chefs “to save the world from cooking catastrophe”, the BBC describes the new fun series.

Often they must travel through inhospitable environments, adopt different modes of transport to reach their destinations, source their ingredients locally and produce their dishes under trying circumstances.

Their first mission is to cook dinner for the Swakopmund mayor. On the way the train stops abruptly. The track is broken. In the shimmering heat of the Namib Desert they see a camel train moving towards them … more will not be revealed.

Incidentally, PLUS readers can travel with the Desert Express to Mokuti Lodge and Etosha National Park from 23 to 26 June, via Omaruru. Price specials are N$ 3500 per person sharing and N$ 3850 single. Book now per fax at 061-298 2601 or mail to dx@transnamib.com.na.