A former Kenya Airforce officer is making a name for himself following his appointment as the head chef for nine restaurants at the Dubai Expo.
During an interview with a local TV station on Saturday, October 6, Cyprian Machangoh, narrated how his work as a chef earned him the opportunity to oversee restaurants serving African delicacies.
Machangoh went ahead to reveal that he was working with 15 Kenyan chefs adding that most of them work in Dubai.
"It is the first biggest African restaurant to be set abroad. We have 100 percent African chefs. I have nine restaurants under this one roof called Alkebulan,"
“I have about 15 chefs that are working directly under me. The majority of the chefs were hired locally. Four of the chefs were directly hired from Kenya through the online application,’ Machangoh revealed.
In the interview, the chef who hails from Migori County credited his rise in the food industry to the nine years he served in the discipline force in Kenya.
"The military is a self-sustaining unit. We have every department for the system to continue flowing. I was working in the administration and supporting the system as a chef,"
“I worked in different ranks until the time I retired from the military. The training was basically from the military school. I graduated as a cook grade one, which is equivalent to a diploma in cooking,” the chef stated.
Machangoh also disclosed that his talent landed him in Dubai in 2013 where he has been able to make a name for himself as a chef in the tourism-rich country.
“A lot was different because the system here is totally different from Kenya. People are very thorough at what they do. There is a lot of pressure at work," he explained.
However, according to Machangoh, working in Dubai has its fair share of challenges.
“When I was leaving Kenya I had two kids and at that time, my son was only one year old. I was leaving my wife with a very young baby to come to pursue greener pastures here in Dubai. In 2015 after I had settled they came over,”
“I can tell you that I pay Ksh 20,000 just for my internet bill. For schools, everything is almost private and the private schools here are like the international schools back in Kenya," he disclosed.
Despite the challenges, Machangoh has hit a number of milestones in his career. In the interview, he revealed that he was among the few sky chefs that are certified in the world.
I think at that time we were only 136 worldwide sky chefs. That took me really far with the dream that I wanted. In my position as a sky chef, I was the first class manager taking care of the first-class guests. It is just like a hotel,” he stated.
The ex-soldier encouraged Kenyan chefs to seek greener pastures in the international arena, adding that there was a high demand for chefs in Dubai.
He further extended his gesture to President Uhuru Kenyatta by inviting him to have a meal at the restaurant.
“I hear the news that the president will be coming to the expo. When you(Uhuru) come, I cordially invite you to come and test our food as well,” he expressed.
