Nairobi’s Food Scene is Going Global

UP Nairobi first met Sandra Zhao through her cupcake company Sugar Pie. Since then we often think of her, if only when our blood sugar is running precariously low at around 4:30 pm and we indulge in a little sneak peak at what new cup cake experiments she has going on. When we saw on her instagram feed that she was doing a kickstarter campaign to produce Im/migrant Nairobi: A Cookbook we were immediately converted. Nairobi has an ever growing number of amazing cosmopolitan restaurants and anyone going out on a limb to document them through words and photography, deserves praise and support.

So we asked Sandra to tell us a bit more about the project. Here’s what she wrote back:

Since I moved to Nairobi more than three years ago, I’ve been fascinated by the food. Growing up Chinese American, I lived between cultures and cuisines, eating Chinese food at home and American food (whatever that might be) everywhere else. I was worried when I first came that I might not be able to find Chinese food and that I’d finally have to learn how to cook it, but much to my surprise, I found some of the best, most authentic Chinese restaurants anywhere outside of China. The frequency that I’d visit these restaurants meant that I got to know the owners pretty well, and learning their stories, I realised that they were part of a much larger history of migration to East Africa. Most ended up in Nairobi to work in construction or trade, and for one reason or another, decided to stay and open restaurants.

In some ways this seemed like a continuity of the history of South Asians coming to Kenya decades ago, also to build infrastructure and staying to establish families and open restaurants. In just a short period, we’ve seen South Asian influences in many aspects of Kenyan cuisine and at the same time, a multitude of authentic North and South Indian and Pakistani restaurants.

Take the experience of Magne, the Norwegian owner of the Lebanese restaurant, Cedars. Magne opened Cedars 16 years ago with some business partners, inspired by the delicious food of his Lebanese wife. He first came to Nairobi as a part of the UN Peacekeeping Operations and traveled throughout the continent. After 20 years with the organisation, he left and opened the restaurant. Nairobi is now his home, but he speaks fondly of Norway—he is an im/migrant, straddling between the home of his past and home of his present.

Nairobi is filled with people like Magne who somehow found themselves in this beautiful city and stayed to open restaurants, though their narratives are rarely so direct. With the Im/migrant Nairobi project, our goal is to tell these stories and share their food through a cookbook. We’re excited to explore recipes and histories deeply embedded in this city—the food that we eat in Nairobi is tangible, visible evidence of the broader global phenomena of migration, adaptation, and exchange that is drawing people from all parts of the world to this dynamic, delicious city.

If instead you are inspired to contribute some money to what is after all a pretty cool project, well then click here and watch the video and get converted like UP!