Mike Mwangi always knew what he wanted to do. As a child, he’d shimmy at his grandfather’s lodge, peeling potatoes, making beds, helping out. He didn’t know it then, but this is what set him on his path from promise to promised land. Now, he is in the Canaan of his career, the General Manager/CEO of Tribe Hotel, a luxury boutique hotel in Nairobi.
His career may be well done, but his words are medium rare; sparse, and terse, not an ounce of excess, shaving off the fat to get to the barebones. “Kitchen,” he says, “is organised chaos.” Not that you can tell from his demeanour, walking languidly, owning the space, recalling how his grandfather would cook ugali, tilapia, and sukuma wiki, not just selflessly but also selfishly, as an assertion of prerogative. Food = love.
