• Nairobi is the capital city, a major connection hub on the continent and a diplomatic hub. A lot of international and regional meetings also take place in Nairobi.
• Nairobi is said to be the main commercial and cultural centre for East Africa, and it has a cosmopolitan flair that combines African, Asian, European, and Middle Eastern cultures.
I have had the experience of interacting with foreigners on official and unofficial basis.
One thing that as a lover of culture, development and modern cities that I always ask is what their take home is from Kenya.
Food, they say. And there is no question about it. Depending on whether they are from a high context or low context culture, they may or may not go ahead and describe what cuisine they love and why, and what they don’t relish and why. One even told me she wishes she could carry fruits and vegetables that would last her a few months and even learn our recipes
On a few occasions, I have travelled out of the country and what I miss most is our food! God really knows how to balance things out, and avoid total brain drain in Africa, because one of my reasons for being patriotic is the fact that I can buy or farm tasty food at home. I am sure most people who have been out of the country would agree to this.
So, what do I mean by tasty food?
Go to Upper Hill area over lunch hour, for instance, and visit the ‘vibandas’ or temporary food vendors and you will find locals and expatriates, from the organizations around the area sitting together enjoying finger licking food. What mainly sells are sizzling charcoal roasted chicken or nyama choma, or fish choma, served with Ugali, rice, mukimo or chapati, among others.
Here, the tribe the food comes from doesn’t’ matter, nor where the cook comes from either. The same feel and vibe is replicated in the cities’ major cafes and restaurants. The cost of food in these places is relatively affordable to the city’s tourists and expatriates. To the locals, the cost definitely varies, and is dependent on various factors.
With this said, is it possible to make Nairobi a known gourmet city in Africa? And why Nairobi?
Nairobi is the capital city, a major connection hub on the continent and a diplomatic hub. A lot of international and regional meetings also take place in Nairobi.
Nairobi is said to be the main commercial and cultural centre for East Africa, and it has a cosmopolitan flair that combines African, Asian, European, and Middle Eastern cultures. There is also good representation of all major tribes in Kenya, and you can find exquisite to traditional foods from these communities.
So how can the Government or the responsible authorities focus on the promotion of Nairobi as a gourmet city?
First, documentation. This can be done by the government or an appointed body. In fact there can be a taskforce around this.
Second, regional balance in terms of promotion of our cuisines should be taken into consideration. Eye catching high-quality images of these gourmet foods is a must, characterized by the use of fresh seasonal ingredients, outstanding nutritional balance detail, and detailed attention to arrangement and food presentation.
Third, these paraphernalia, both in hard and soft copy, can be distributed in key areas that are frequented by guests. This would include, online platforms, airports, key ministries, taxis, hotels, key heritage cites, cafes and restaurants among many other ideas that experts in the area would recommend.
Whenever I dine with a visitor, I always recommend deep stuff, like ‘Malindi chai Latte and Swahili Curry Fish with coconut rice and kachumbari. The other day I recommended this, and my guest couldn’t thank me more!
Honestly, we wow at developed countries for their leadership, infrastructure, education, human rights and general advancement. But one asset we have that they cannot match is our weather and our good food!
A gourmet experience in Nairobi is definitely one way of using soft power with flavour.
Vera is a part time lecturer and a communications researcher [email protected]