Palmer-Watts had been invited to Kisumu, Kenya by Farm Africa, a charity which works across the whole continent to help rural farmers develop sustainable businesses in order to become self-sufficient, without the need for overseas aid.
BigHospitality was with the chef every step of the way as he learnt more about a project which supports farmers who use specially-built ponds to farm tilapia.
In this exclusive mini-documentary video, Ashley reveals his thoughts as he visits a number of fish farmers, the entrepreneurs using so-called 'Aqua Shops' to help farming communities and a family whose lives are being changed by fish ponds on their farm.
'Rick Stein would be proud'
Ashley was the guest of Joyce Kadenge and her family for the second half of his trip and learnt more about her daily life as he shadowed her in all her tasks from weeding and picking veg to tending to her fish ponds and gutting tilapia for dinner.
The emotional trip culminated in The Fat Duck group executive chef preparing a meal in some of the most unusual conditions of his career before he revealed his thoughts on the project and how the hospitality industry could lend its support.
Declaring 'Rick Stein would be proud', Ashley cooked a tilapia feast for a community he said were not just gaining from the Farm Africa project by being able to feed themselves but by being able to send their children and grandchildren to school and in turn improve their lives in the long-term
- Find out more about how the Chef Africa trip came about and what Ashley's initial thoughts were in our original article here.
- Click here for more information about how the hospitality and restaurant industries are being encouraged to support Farm Africa.
- Catch-up with Ashley's thoughts on his entire trip by reading his African Diary.
- Check out all the photos from Ashley's trip, including the mud hut he swapped his Knightsbridge kitchen for, in our special gallery here.