When Margaret Smalls moved to the United Kingdom in 2006, she had no idea that she would one day own an exotic restaurant serving Kenyan dishes in Edgware, Northern England.
During an interview with veteran journalist Alex Chamwada on his Daring Abroad segment, the 29-year-old who hails from Funyula, Busia County, credited her passion for cooking to her grandmother who taught her how to cook at a tender age.
Smalls went ahead to state that her desire to make a name for Kenyan food among residents in the UK drove her to start the Kenyan Kitchen. She noted that Kenya is mostly known for tourism and not food.
"I wanted to tell the Kenyan story through food. In Kenya, we are merely known for safari, running, and a good place for a holiday. When I started Kenyan Kitchen, people would ask what we were all about.
"My cooking was merely inspired by my grandparents. At the age of six, I made my first meal and that was ugali and mrenda and that is when I knew that I could cook," Smalls stated.
Kenyan Kitchen serves some of the popular Kenyan dishes such as Ugali, Nyama Choma, Fish, Sukuma Wiki among other vegetables.
As the interview went on, the trained teacher also revealed that some of the ingredients used in preparing the food are from Kenya. In particular, she stated that the green chili from Kenya is liked by her customers.
Additionally, she disclosed that many of the UK customers enjoy Mbuzi Choma (roasted goat meat) as many people ask for it when they visit the restaurant.
"I felt that there was a gap in the market for Kenyan food and there are so many cuisines. I wanted to introduce Kenyan food to the world given that most of the tribes have their own food," Smalls stated.
On his part, Kennedy Bwire, Smalls’ father and the restaurant’s accountant, revealed that he encouraged the 29-year-old to venture into the hospitality industry after her cooking attracted good reviews from workers she could sell food to through online platforms.
"She used to sell food online and the demand was growing. At one point in 2019, somebody saw her work and invited her to sell food at an event and the food was totally sold out and people suggested that she should start selling her food because people love it,” Bwire disclosed.
Since the restaurant was started, several government officials and Kenyan celebrities have visited the restaurant as they visited the UK.
In the interview, the teacher stated that Kenyan Ambassador to the UK, Manoah Esipisu, helped grow her business further after he took a cup of tea at Kenyan Kitchen.
“Ambassador Manoah came here and he had his favorite tea. It helped us in terms of marketing as he put a post on Twitter and after that, I had people messaging me,” Smalls divulged.
Further, the businesswoman encouraged Kenyans who want to venture into the hospitality industry to pursue their passion noting that the UK had strict regulations for those who aspire of owning restaurants in England.
