Food is my passion

In 1982, HUBERT ALEXANDER DES MARAIS came to Kenya on holiday aged 19 after finishing school in America. He ended up becoming a local top chef. He spoke to PETER MUIRURIWhen Hubert Alexander Des Marais came to Kenya, he visited the Mount Kenya region and spent HUBERT ALEXANDER DES MARAIS [PHOTO: PETER MUIRURI/STANDARDsome nights in Room 12 at the prestigious Mount Kenya Safari Club. Little did he know that a quarter of a century later, he would be back in the country, this time to oversee all matters culinary of the same hotel chain. Hubert is not your usual stereotypical chef in a tall hat, always shouting orders, pacing up and down the kitchen floor and producing top quality dishes under immense pressure. Yes, his towering figure and piercing eyes may cause some initial fidgeting, but as we settle down for a drink at the Lord Delamere Terrace at the Fairmont Norfolk on this particular Saturday, I have no illusions about the fervor with which the Group Executive Chef of the Fairmont hotels in East Africa approaches his duty.He is charged with the responsibility of overseeing and managing culinary operations at the Norfolk, Mount Kenya Safari Club and the Mara Safari Club. "Cooking is a passion I inherited from my family, more so my grandmother, Nane, who not only taught me how to prepare a meal but took me through the entire process," says Hubert, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America.Organic gardeningIn the three years of his stewardship, Hubert has turned around the food service sector at the Fairmont hotels, especially through the establishment of a recycling, composting and organic gardening programme in the three establishments. He also initiated a food-buying programme featuring a network of local fruit and vegetable growers, Tatu Restaurant, the American steak house that Hubert set up at the Fairmont Norfolk Hotel. It scooped the Restaurant Hospitality award during the Taste Awards held recently. [PHOTO: PETER MUIRURI/STANDARDfarmers, ranchers and fishermen, allowing him to come up with creative and profitable menus that showcase the freshest and most interesting regional products available.Nothing pleases him more than seeing guests enjoy fresh farm produce, some of it sourced directly from the hotels’ organic gardens."There is a misconception that foods in our top hotels must be imported. Travel to Europe and you will find hotels serving sukuma wiki, French beans, pineapples, coffee and tea from Kenya. Yet these are the same items that bring tourists to Kenya. Being a chef means coming up with interesting menus," says Hubert.For Hubert, sourcing the best requires that he sheds off his kitchen garb, make occasional forays in the local markets and haggle for the best prices in true Kenyan fashion. Shouts of ‘chef’, ‘chef’, ring the air whenever he is seen walking around the hawker’s market opposite the Aga Khan Hospital, or the roadside markets along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.Such a practice, he says, gives confidence and impetus to the local farmers."It would be easier to sit in the kitchen office and import the foodstuffs. However, our clientele, who know that we serve fresh produce, would be disappointed if we were to start serving foods frozen for weeks," remarks Hubert, adding that 95 per cent of food served at the Fairmont hotels is sourced locally.Hubert, 48, spent part of his early years working at the family farm in their summer home in North Carolina, USA, where he got to grasp the mechanisms of getting the food from the farm to the table, skills that have come in handy.This becomes evident as we walk around the Norfolk gardens. What appear to be normal shrubs, creepers and ‘flowers’ from a distance are actually tropical herbs and fruit trees used in the preparation of various dishes within the hotel — tree tomatoes, avocados, pawpaw, guavas, mulberries, rosemary among others. He even has a few coffee bushes in the compound.Local sceneBack to the kitchen, Hubert, who is here on a training visa, is eager to impart his knowledge to aspiring Kenyan chefs. "There are those who fear losing control by imparting their knowledge to others. I would like to bring fresh ideas to the Kenyan market," says Hubert who honed his skills in the US at the Four Seasons Palm Beach, where he directed the culinary operations for 18 years, and South Carolina’s famed Kiawah Island Resort.Indeed, his efforts in the local scene have already been recognised by others. During this year’s Taste Awards held recently at Tribe Hotel, Nairobi, Hubert bagged the Chef of the Year Award, while Tatu Restaurant, the American steakhouse he set up at the Norfolk, scooped the Restaurant Hospitality Award as well as the Sustainable Champions of the Year Award. Cin Cin Wine Bar, another outfit bearing his personal stamp, was the winner in the Best Bar in a hotel category. Working with Kenyans has been a great experience for Hubert who has visited many corners of the country."Kenyans are a friendly lot. In fact, you would be surprised that majority of my friends are Kenyans, though I have nothing against my fellow Americans," he says in a chuckle. Despite his busy schedule, Hubert still finds some moments to relax with his wife Evengeline."She was my high school sweetheart, though it was through a friend’s party that we got serious. I was impressed by the way she diligently served the visitors. We have been married for 27 years now," says Hubert, a father of one son Xan, a student at the Western Washington University, USA."I have tried to dissuade him from studying bakery in campus but he refuses to listen," Hubert jokingly says.On a day off, Hubert tends to his garden of orchids and does some fishing when time allows. At home, he makes most of the meals.

Food is my passion

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