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Renowned chef Rolf Schmidt dies at 69
‘No Need to Lie’ author Rolf Rainer Schmidt, a renowned film actor, during the interview at his Rolf Place Lodge in Nairobi on January 30, 2012. Photo/BILLY MUTAI
You liked or didn’t like Rolf Shmidt if you ever met him.
A renowned chef, he was like the proverbial cat with nine lives whose never-say-die attitude in the face of major challenges saw him survive many obstacles.
He learnt at an early age to fend for himself and travelled to different countries in search of a place to call home. He found this in Kenya.
One of his greatest battles in life was cancer. In 1993, at 50, he was diagnosed with throat cancer. A fighter with a black belt in judo and a weightlifter, Schmidt vowed the disease would not put him down.
Many battles
He survived having gone through surgery, chemotherapy and no appetite and continued to forge on with life with gusto.
This battle was only one of the many, including a carjacking incident with his family that saw him pursue the criminals until they were apprehended.
On Monday night, October 1, Rolf died aged 69 years at his home in Kitengela.
His passing on comes slightly over a year since he released his autobiography, No Need to Lie by Moran Publishers.
The book recounts his life, a story of adventure, working in different hotels and catering for some of the prominent families in the country as well as his love for Kenya.
Born in Germany, in October 1943, Rolf first fell in love with Africa from the pages of Ernest Hemingways’ book, Green Hills of Africa.
It was a gift. He bought more books and in 1966 travelled to South Africa before moving north to the then Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.
In an interview with Wildlife Direct’s Africa’s Wildest Stories, he said everyone talked of Kenya being the real Africa.
In 1973, he drove his Land Rover from Tanzania, where he was a chef, to Nairobi and he never went back.
He became a Kenyan citizen in 1978.
A hunter then, he offered services when big film-makers came to town, including Out of Africa, Constant Gardner and Tomb Raider.
His first restaurant in Kenya was Red Bull, on Mama Ngina Street. It is here he made a name in the city for his fine cuisine, attracting prominent Kenyans.
He later opened The Horseman, in Karen, which he was known for.
Polo club
However, his family’s carjacking incident when running a restaurant, saw him turn his attention to pursuing the criminals, leading to the death of the hotel.
Later, he turned his million-shilling residence into a getaway, Rolf’s Place. The boutique hotel sits on the south east border of Nairobi National Park, boasting fine cuisine, tranquillity and wildlife.
It is here he started his polo club, a sport he enjoyed. He was chairman of Kenya Judo.
