Haute cuisine may seem a contradiction in terms on a continent where millions go hungry.

But Coco Fathi Reinharz, a half-Belgian, half-Burundian chef, is at the vanguard of a new African fine dining movement that is ditching stodgy, tasteless peasant food for sophisticated dishes with an exotic twist. Reinharz and a growing cadre of young African chefs, many of whom train in Europe, are determined to showcase African flavours with finesse, using traditional ingredients like plantain and yam.

His new cookbook, To the Banqueting House African Cuisine on an Epic Journey, co-authored with South African-British food writer Anna Trapido, features dishes like oxtail terrine with inkomazi dressing and brunoised beetroot from Lesotho, or yam and crayfish risotto, inspired by Gabons fish and rice dishes. His rooibos tea-marinated quail from South Africa comes with julienned sweet potato, while stuffed guinea fowl is topped with a Ghanaian peanut sauce and plantain loaf.

                              SIGNED BY GWYNNE CONLYN (PUBLISHER), ANNA TRAPIDO & COCO REINARHZ