Restless gourmet chef builds fortress on a gorge in Rongai
The bridge that joins Rolf’s Place to civilisation. Photo/COURTESY
Rolf Schmidt, a renowned chef, has exhausted seven of the nine lives of a cat, surviving tough times and the heights he has fallen from with one great thing to show for it, the luxurious restaurant—Rolf’s Place—built like a medieval fortress.
Having lost his parents when he was 15-years-old, Rolf started fending for himself as a teenager, playing apprentice as a chef in different countries worldwide.
He later survived lymph cancer, and has made his comeback with an exclusive restaurant situated in Rongai that echoes his steel, resolute nature.
Situated on the south east border of Nairobi National Park, the cliff mansion is built like a medieval fortress on the edge of the rock it overlooks.
He turned his Sh20 million residence into a Sh40 million getaway, which has become the latest favourite eating joint for Nairobi residents, a place to hold parties by the poolside and where one can spend the night enjoying nature at its finest.
It is the wooden bridge spanning the deep narrow rocky valley from the parking lot to the restaurant that sets Rolf’s Place apart from many restaurants in Kenya.
Mr Schmidt says the bridge was his brainchild, but was professionally designed by a structural engineer.
He says that for his own peace of mind, he doubled the number of cables on the bridge design and halved its weight to ensure its safety.
Mr Schmidt is a professional chef, and his acumen shines through his five-star cuisine that keeps customers coming back.
He previously worked in top hotels in 12 countries before coming to Kenya in 1973 as the executive chef at the Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi.
He did a two-year stint at the 5-star hotel then left for Red Bull, followed by brief tenures at African Heritage, Paddock, Chevalier Horseman, and Pescavore in Mombasa.
The experience has matured his cooking like good wine and the food in his hotel never disappoints.
A few years ago, Mr Schmidt fell in love with the rugged rocky terrain near Maasai Lodge, where he built a house on the gorge and named it Leopard Cliff Mansion, spicing it up with a suspended bridge that looks like the set of the Indiana Jones’ movie.
“When I built the house I made it clear quite from the beginning that one day I want to convert it into a lodge,” he says.
Years later, he is living his dream.
“I live in the hotel and I feel extremely comfortable,” he says. The lodge has attracted people from all walks of life, including actors who have shot movies there.
“The hotel has been used for many photo shoots especially for fashion weddings. The television series “Changes” in which I played the character Vincento Bertolli was also shot here,” he said. The hotel, located on expansive manicured grounds, has different sections where families can enjoy a day out.
The terrace, endowed with African art can hold 50 people while the swimming pool can hold up to 200 people.
Inside, the lounge can sit 30 visitors comfortably enjoying a drink and a chat.
To cater for customers who want a night away from the city, Mr Schmidt last year built cosy rooms that cost between Sh18,000 and Sh20,000 per night, with sweeping views, singing birds and chattering monkeys.
Rolf’s Place also hosts polo matches on the revamped facilities.
It exudes art and class. You can also ride horses, steam in the sauna, get a massage, and quench your thirst at the bar over a barbeque dinner.
Groups seeking a team-building spot at Rolf’s Place will enjoy paint balling, tug of war, archery, volleyball, football, darts, pool and mountain biking.
So what lured Schmidt into setting up the establishment at such a remote area?
“Foresight… I knew that Nairobi would be overcrowded sooner or later,” he says.
His experiences in life are captured in a biography set to be published by Moran Publishers in September this year.
