TAKE 5: with Lesiamon Ole Sempele

1. Did you choose this job or did you find yourself in it?

My journey towards becoming a chef started when I turned 19. I was determined to put in the amount of work needed to get me to the very top one day. Everywhere I work, I do it with a sense of ownership. Whatever section I am assigned to work in, I give it my all, and I work as if I have invested my own money in the project. Being a chef is all I have ever wanted to be. It is not about it being a job that earns me a living. This is who I am.

2. Were you one of those children that were always in the kitchen then?

I was a weird kid! Instead of playing, I would sit and watch cooking shows, remember Mke Nyumbani on KBC on Saturdays? I watched that. My mum cooked, and I would enjoy watching her do it. When I went to visit friends, I would end up in the kitchen to watch the cooking, I would try to not to distract them!

3. Where did you formally learn how to cook?

I went to Utalii College for a short course in cake making and decoration, and then I enrolled at Top Chef full time. School is important. It teaches you all the basics you need, the fundamentals of the kitchen. It isn’t everything, though.

You can do without it. I went to school because I was fortunate enough to go to that school. I would have learnt what I know without it yes, but I appreciate the knowledge all the same.

4. At one point you worked on a cruise ship, what was the experience like?

It was brutal and fun at the same time. Brutal being away from home, but fun seeing all these different destinations, 17 of them to be precise. My favourite was the Isle of Pines, in New Caledonia, in the South Pacific.

It has perfect weather. We think we have perfect weather here, but there, it is amazing. The water is so clear, the sand is so white, but after eight-and-a-half months of being on a ship, you miss everything about home. Even the matatus.

5. What are your tattoos of?

I got of the Ace of Spades a long time ago because it is the most powerful card in the deck. Later, I added some tribal ones that extend over my shoulder and collarbone…and orchids because roses are cliché.

6. What bothers you about the restaurant scene in Kenya?

Service. You walk into a restaurant and those serving you act like they are doing you a favour. I strongly believe that most people are coming into this field out of necessity, as if it is a backup plan, as if they didn’t get a job in the field they studied for, so this is a plan B. It isn’t a calling for many. Your personality makes up 80 per cent of your skill in hospitality.

*****

Hotspot 

Ayrosh Presents: Folk Fusion Mugithi

You read the name of the event and you don’t know what it is about. You think you know, but you don’t know. To begin with, it is not just mugithi; it is Ayrosh, a talented vocalist, arranger and promoter’s version 2.0 on one of Kenya’s classic musical forms, with a touch of contemporary folk, which I doubt anyone else is doing. I have seen Ayrosh perform before at a SheBlossoms Lupus Awareness event, which is why I really don’t think the entry should be free, but it is your lucky day because it is indeed free. So now you really have no excuse to not make your way to 910 James Gichuru Road tonight at 8pm. As you listen, and probably dance, be sure to partake of the tasties provided by Fresh And More Bakery, which will be on site as well. What’s your excuse again?

***** 

Blog Review

Blog of the week

My Mind My Funk    -   mymindmyfunk.com 

Sitawa Wafula is a mental health and epilepsy activist who has written for, and been featured in various publications such as The Daily Nation and Huffington Post. In April this year, she is planning to do a mental health awareness tour across a number of universities in Kenya, having just come from a month-long US speaking tour that included being on a TED stage and attending the Aspen Ideas Festival, where she had a chance to talk to Caitlyn Jenner on mental health (you can find the video on YouTube). The tour will use storytelling and spoken word to spread awareness and spark conversation on mental health.

Why am I telling you this? Because mental health is often ignored in our society, yet it shouldn’t be. Sitawa is doing such important work, and you should follow her on the blog above, or her personal one, sitawa.blogspot.co.ke, to find out what university she is visiting next and hear that it is possible to thrive from someone who has survived and thrived.