ENVI Paje names Karen de Villiers executive chef in Zanzibar

ENVI Paje has appointed Karen de Villiers as executive chef at its newly opened beachfront resort in Paje, Zanzibar. The move places food at the center of the property’s wellness-driven guest experience, with a menu shaped by local ingredients, seasonality and sustainability.

Why it matters: - ENVI Paje is using food as part of its wellness positioning, not just as a service add-on. - Karen de Villiers’ appointment helps define the resort’s identity at launch, with cuisine tied to Zanzibar’s ingredients, seasons and culture. - The resort is pushing a sustainability story through local sourcing, waste reduction and guest participation.

What happened: - ENVI Paje appointed Karen de Villiers executive chef at the newly opened resort on Paje’s white-sand beach in Zanzibar. - The resort describes food as part of the wellness journey and a reflection of place, season and care. - General Manager Daniel Morario said de Villiers has been central to shaping the kitchen and the resort’s identity from the start.

The details: - De Villiers brings combined experience in savory cooking and pastry, shaped by childhood exposure to her grandmother’s wedding cakes and her father’s vegetable garden. - Her approach focuses on balanced flavors and guest satisfaction, with an emphasis on sweet and savory combinations. - Zanzibar’s tropical fruit, fresh seafood and aromatic spices guide the menu instead of a fixed list. - The kitchen uses local ingredients whenever possible. - ENVI Paje says a private garden will soon bring harvesting even closer to the kitchen. - Kitchen surplus is turned into pickles, jams and house-made preserves, including watermelon and lime jam, passionfruit peel jam and tomato-chili jam. - When gluten-free flour was unavailable on the island, de Villiers made her own blend from cashew, lentil and chickpea flour. - Guests can join activities such as bread making, pickling, shell collecting and making essential oils. - The daily muffin is made without refined sugar or artificial sweeteners and uses baobab, moringa and ashwagandha. - Signature dishes include a chilled octopus salad and a warm vegetable korma. - ENVI Paje’s accommodations include beachfront villas with private pools opening directly onto the sand. - The resort also offers science-backed wellness treatments, including hyperbaric oxygen, red light, pulsed electromagnetic field therapy, cold plunges and IV therapy, alongside traditional spa treatments.

Between the lines: - The menu appears designed to make sustainability tangible for guests, turning sourcing and preservation into part of the experience. - The resort is blending culinary wellness with broader recovery-focused offerings to create a more immersive luxury stay. - De Villiers’ role suggests ENVI Paje wants the dining room to reinforce the brand promise as strongly as the spa.

What's next: - ENVI Paje says its private garden will soon supply more of the kitchen’s produce. - The resort is also positioning itself as part of a broader ENVI Lodges expansion, with openings planned in Saudi Arabia and Oman in 2027. - More information is available via ENVI Paje's announcement and the press materials include editorial photos of chef Karen and the full ENVI Paje press kit.

The bottom line: - ENVI Paje is betting that a wellness-first food program, built around Zanzibar ingredients and low-waste cooking, will help define its luxury brand from day one.