Dishing out Kenyan cuisine in Washington DC

In the heart of Washington DC a Kenyan restaurant that has hosted President Kibaki, Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Mama Sarah Obama among other dignitaries is giving Kenyans and other Africans a taste of Kenyan delicacy, writes Lucianne Limo

Armed with nothing but a paltry $35 (Sh2,695) and ambition, William Mukabane boarded a plane 30 years ago to pursue the ever elusive American dream.

A barman at the President Obama shrine in the Safari DC restaurant.

He didn’t know what lay ahead, but he got more than he bargained for.

Mukabane is now the proprietor of Washington DC’s only Kenyan restaurant, Safari DC, which he co-owns with his wife, Alice.

I first heard of Safari DC on a recent trip to the US. Like my expectation of everything in the US, I imagined this trendy and classy place with revolving doors. I was disappointed though briefly. Apart from the Luhya tunes belting in the background the simplicity of the dÈcor in the two-storey building is amazing.

The first floor, which is the dining area, was full with patrons from different African countries sampling Kenyan dishes.

It had been long since I had eaten an authentic Kenyan meal and the sight of chicken, chapati and ugali made my enzymes go crazy. There was absolutely no difference between my pals at Nerkwo in Nairobi and I. In the midst of the meal I could not help but wonder how the place came to be.

"Eat first, then we’ll talk later," urged Mukabane, popularly known as Mzee Safari. Like the Nile, his story flowed as we washed down the heart meal with wine.

"I relocated to America on August 29, 1978, the day Mzee Jomo Kenyatta was buried," he said with a chuckle.

With no money all he had was a determination to succeed. His first stop was New York where he did odd jobs (he didn’t specify), which enabled him to enroll at the State University of New York in Buffalo.

"I enrolled for Bachelor’s in Business Administration and graduated in 1982," he says.

Armed with a degree, Mukabane thought the doors to achieving his American dream would automatically open. He was so wrong.

He later moved to Washington DC and like many others began working in restaurants. Doing manual jobs with a degree didn’t appeal to Mukabane. In 1983 he joined the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and graduated in 1985 with Diploma in Hotel Management and Classical French Cuisine.

"I worked in many hotels and restaurants as a chef including The Hilton, Red Sage and the Intercontinental," he recalls.

remembered mother’s food

He even worked for a catering company that catered for movie star Will Smith’s and Jada Pinkett’s wedding.

"It was the highlight of my career. I enjoyed working for the company very much," he adds.

Mukabane who specialised in American, French and other delicacies from different continents, said after a day’s work, he would retire to his house and cook his food ‘the way my mother did’.

"At the end of the day, I yearned for my traditional food," he said.

As he thought about it, Mukabane realised many others like him wished for their traditional food.

"I figured I could open a place where they could enjoy some mbuzi choma (roast goat), chapati and chicken to give them a taste of home."

The pursuit to give others a taste of home gave birth to the Safari DC Restaurant.

With determination and a little apprehension, Mukabane bid farewell to a stable job and plunged into self-employment.

"I rented a restaurant that had gone out of business and with a staff of three people including my wife, I was in business," he says.

Patrons enjoy nyama choma at the Safari DC restaurant.

Barely making it, Mukabane struggled to keep the restaurant running for three years before it started picking up. For a marketing strategy, he relied on word of mouth, from one client to another.

As people talked about the authentic Kenyan joint, clients started streaming in and Mukabane’s fortune changed for the better, forcing him to look for a bigger place.

The couple bought a rundown restaurant that had been closed five years earlier, which they renovated and renamed Safari DC.

The restaurant remains the only place that serves Kenyan food in a metropolitan area that has several Indian, Ethiopian, Chinese and Italian restaurants.

The menu at Safari DC includes nyama and mbuzi choma, chicken, tilapia, chapati, samosa, ugali and, of course, Tusker.

A corner of the restaurant is dedicated to Barack Obama, the US President.

"This place is called the Obama shrine," says Mukabane, pointing at a corner full of Obama’s pictures, books, family photos, paintings and other portraits of the First family.

There is also a banner on the wall bearing several signatures of patrons who had wished Obama well during the US Presidential campaigns.

Next to it is a clean banner purposely left for President Obama to sign should he stop by the restaurant for a meal. Mukabane hopes against hope that one day he will.

"President Obama will one day dine here. He is a normal person and given time, he will stop by. It does not matter how long we will wait. There is no hurry, I will always be here," says an optimistic Mukabane.

hosted President Obama’s kin

During President Obama’s inauguration, Safari DC hosted members of the Kenyan delegation headed by Sarah Obama.

"We had so many customers from all over Africa and in a day we could serve over 300 people. It was a blessing and we enjoyed every moment," says Alice

The couple still savours the visit by Obama’s grandmother, Sarah.

"She came at 10am and left at 3pm. I served her and her friends tilapia, samosas, Kenyan sausages, chapatis and nyama choma," recalls Alice.

Sarah was like a mother to the Mukabanes. They toured the vast city, shopped and even made their hair together, recalls Alice.

The restaurant has been a must-visit for many VIPs, including President Kibaki, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka and former Member of Parliament Kenneth Matiba.

Mukabane says with the credit crunch, however, his greatest challenge is retaining his customers.

Steve Mwema, a Benefit Consultant for small and medium enterprises in Maryland, says he visits the restaurant at least twice a month.

"This place reminds me of home and gives me an opportunity to meet fellow Kenyans. We eat, dance, enjoy and replay the Kenyan environment at an affordable price," he says.

Mwema, who has lived in America for over 10 years, loves tilapia, kachumbari and ugali at Safari DC.

Across the table, Anyango Reggy, a PhD student at Howard University, is engaged in a hearty discussion in Kiswahili with her friends over a plate of fish and chapati. Looking at the expression on her face, she is not missing home, at least not culinary-wise.

She said the restaurant’s food takes her right back to her favourite eating joint in Nairobi.

"The economy is tough here but I visit here as often as I can to sample my favourite meal of goat meat, ugali and chapati.

Mukabane and his wife, Alice.

She has met many Kenyans at the restaurant and feels at home whenever she is there. It is like being ‘home away from home’.

Safari DC is not only patronised by Kenyans in Washington but also other Africans and a horde of African-Americans.

Pointing at the bar area, Mukabane says the bar is known as Bar ya Wazee (elder’s bar), where African minds meet to discuss the day’s politics and social issues from all over the continent.

Looking around there are many guests from Zambia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and even Malawi. It is an African cocktail as far as patrons are concerned.

African treatment

A Consular official from Zambia, Everitus Kalaba said of the restaurant: "Once you walk in here, you are an African and we love to eat, talk politics and interact with each other."

Rose Kumsinda from Lilongwe loves the restaurant, as it is the only place she gets the African treatment.

Robert Okubo, who runs a travel consultancy in Maryland, says whenever he gets homesick, the Kenyan music at the restaurant’s disco hall transport him back home.

Apart from the meals, the restaurant acts as a meeting place whenever tragedy strikes.

"The restaurant also serves as a meeting place for Kenyans and others from Africa who might be bereaved," Alice says.

"Our families are miles away and this is the only place where we feel close to each other especially in times of sorrow," she explains.

Though the Mukabanes have been in the US for close to three decades, they have not forgotten their roots and every year, they visit the motherland and share in their countrymen’s disappointments with the political leadership at home.

"President Obama should not give aid to Kenya until corruption is stamped out. The funds always end up in the pockets of the rich, leaving Kenyans who deserve it poorer," said Mukabane.

"We are recycling old leaders yet we have young educated Kenyans who have no jobs. We get frustrated when we see what is happening back home," he adds.

He believes much should be done to try and woo businessmen to the Kenya. His long-term goal is to open up a chain of Safari DC in Kenya’s main towns.

Although they do not want to gloat over it, the Mukabanes have bailed out so many Kenyans who have been caught on the wrong side of the law.

Their seven bed-roomed house in Washington has also housed many Kenyans who are either new in the US or have been thrown out of their homes.

The couple have two daughters, Mariam, a teacher in Kenya, and Caroline, a student at Montgomery College in the US.