Carol Waithera left the country in 2006 with a German man she had just met, who she later got married to as her life took an interesting turn.
Waithera, a trained lawyer in Kenya, was met with culture shock, especially the language barrier that blocked her from practicing law.
In an interview with Chams Media, the chef narrated her journey from Kenya and adjusting to life in Germany for over 15 years.
She however embraced the new culture and took up a career in hospitality. First, she started by washing dishes.
"Back in Kenya I loved cooking whenever we had parties at home everyone knew Carol was cooking. I never knew I would take it up as a job," she recalled.
The ambitious woman from Nanyuki observed chefs at the restaurant where she was working to learn the ropes, and she later took up a three-year course to get a certification.
Waithera started Restaurant La[Kula] in 2017 which offers Kenyan delicacies to the locals.
The unique way she writes her restaurant name is artistic and the name was meant to encourage the visitors to eat together.
"I open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Throughout the days we have a lot of different cuisines and on Sunday we have Nairobi brunch comprising of dishes eaten in Kenya during breakfast," she stated.
The restaurant located in Schermbeck can accommodate about 100 people inside and about 300 outside in the garden.
It also has a few rooms to accommodate visitors who may want to stay the night.
"The cooking is unique, I don't want you to just eat the food I want you to feel the love, I will dance and laugh with you and you will always remember me," she stated.
Her restaurant has grown massive support, and she wants to start a podcast on those living abroad. It will offer advice and share the life experiences of Kenyans in the Diaspora.
She has partnered with a few friends to start the Far From Home-Diaspora Conversations, podcast.
Despite her success, the Ndururumo High School alumni has faced some bias in the foreign country but he has learned to rise above the negative.
