At ENVI Paje, the barefoot luxury and wellness lodge set on the powder-white sands of Paje Beach, food is part of the wellness – an expression of place, season and care. At the heart of the kitchen is Executive Chef Karen De Villiers, whose philosophy comes down to a single word: satisfied.
Trained in both savoury cooking and patisserie – a rare, complete skillset rooted in a childhood spent watching her grandmother craft intricate wedding cakes and picking vegetables from her father’s garden – Karen brings balance and care to every plate. “From the start of my career, I wanted to understand how flavours work together,” she explains. “For me it is not just cooking, it is about seeing the satisfaction on people’s faces. Being able to appreciate both sweet and savoury makes it easier to create a balanced meal that leaves you satisfied.”
What defines her cooking is Zanzibar itself. Known as ‘Spice Island’ and recognised as a blue zone, it offers sun-ripened tropical fruit, ocean-fresh seafood and aromatic spices in abundance, and Karen lets the island and its seasons lead rather than imposing a fixed menu. “It is incredible to have so many fresh ingredients available,” she says. “It inspires me to be creative with what is in front of me. The menu is designed to be flexible to what the seasons offer.”
Sustainability is built into how the kitchen runs
Every ingredient is sourced locally, with ENVI Paje’s own garden soon to bring the harvest closer still, and nothing goes to waste. Surplus becomes homemade pickles, preserves and jams, from watermelon and lime preserve to passionfruit skin marmalade and tomato chilli jam. When gluten-free flour proved impossible to find on the island, Karen simply milled her own from cashew nuts, lentils and chickpeas. That hands-on spirit extends to guests, who can join in bread making, pickling, seashell hunting and essential-oil making, each a way to taste and take home a piece of the island.
It runs through her signature daily muffin as well: free from refined sugar and artificial sweeteners, and made with some of Zanzibar’s most nourishing local ingredients, baobab, moringa and ashwagandha, for a guilt-free treat that is genuinely good for you. The result is a dining experience designed to nourish without overwhelming, with plates made for sharing. Among the dishes that best capture her philosophy are the octopus salad, cool and refreshing, and the Mharage vegetable curry, warming and grounding, two sides of a menu where every dish tells the same story.
For General Manager Daniel Morariu, having Karen shape the kitchen from the very beginning has been central to shaping the identity of the newly opened property. “Chef Karen embodies everything ENVI Paje stands for, a deep respect for the island, its ingredients and its rhythms,” he says. “Her cooking is fresh, intentional and full of heart, and gives our guests a true taste of Zanzibar.”
Chef Karen’s kitchen is one part of a wider experience. ENVI Paje is a beachfront collection of private-pool villas that open straight onto the sand, its signature a suite of science-based wellness therapies, from hyperbaric oxygen, red light and PEMF to cold plunge and IV therapy, designed to support deep recovery and lasting vitality alongside traditional spa treatments. Together with Karen’s wholesome, locally sourced cooking, wellness at ENVI Paje is never a programme layered on top of a stay, but something woven into every experience, and never more deliciously than at the table.
For more information about ENVI Paje, follow @envipaje or book your stay via and reservations, please visit www.envilodges.com/paje