Truly authentic traditional food in Kenya is fast disappearing.
What is considered “Kenyan food” today has heavy influence from the Swahili coast and Indian cuisine in foods such as Chapati, Pilau and Biryani. While dishes like these feature prominently on menus in Kenya, the authentic food from Kenya’s many different communities does not.
Chances are, you’re unlikely to find many restaurants in Kenya serving Mukimo from the Agikuyu people or Muthokoi from the Akamba. Some places may include fermented milk in their menus, but this is far from what the Kalenjin call Mursik. Although mursik qualifies as fermented milk, it has undergone a rigorous process to give it that unique taste. It is also grey, not white. The colour comes from a special charcoal known as osek that is used to coat the storage containers. These containers are known as sotet (sotonik) and are beautifully decorated with beads. Sometimes, they are cut in half to form calabashes. After the milk is boiled and allowed to cool, it will be poured into the sotet and set aside for around 5 days. Once ready, it can be enjoyed with Ugali.
This quiet vanishing of indigenous foodways is tied to deeper histories.
Much of Kenya’s menu was shaped by migration and Empire
Indo-African culinary ties stretch far into the past, as far back as the 1500s.
During this time, Indian influence on cuisine was felt only along the coast of Kenya. It wasn’t until the late 1800s – during British colonial rule – that Indian cuisine began to spread inland, into the interior of the country then known as the East Africa Protectorate.
During the construction of the Kenya-Uganda railway, approximately 35,000 Indians were brought to Kenya to provide labour. When construction was completed in 1901, some chose to remain in Kenya.
They went on to establish shops across the country, making it accessible for Indian cuisine to be adopted countrywide and eventually, integrated into what is now seen as part of “Kenyan food.”
Even how we eat changed (the fork and knife were never ours)
Foreign influence on Kenyan cuisine is felt on so many levels, more than just food. It’s in the etiquette taught to staff in restaurants, how tables are set, even how meals are eaten.
As a guest, you’re typically offered a fork and knife. This type of cutlery was introduced into the country by the British as they established themselves in East Africa. But many traditional Kenyan foods were never meant to be eaten this way. Across most African communities, eating with your hands is the norm.
Imported etiquette quietly contributes to erosion of dining traditions. In some communities in Kenya, calabashes were used as plates. With their rounded nature, introducing forks and knives into this setup would be a total disaster. It’s a small detail, but one that’s part of a bigger picture showing a slow fade of local mealtime traditions.
Communal eating was once central to Kenyan hospitality
Before colonial influence, mealtime etiquette across East Africa – and the continent more widely – varied from community to community. But one thread ran through them all: hospitality.
African hospitality meant that everyone present during a meal would be served. It did not matter whether you were part of the family or just passing by. If you arrived at someone’s home around mealtime, you ate. More food would be cooked, or what was available would be shared equally among those present.
There was no need to alert your host days in advance. People took pride in shared meals and communal gatherings. Eating together wasn’t just expected, it was very much part of life.
Today, some rural areas in Kenya still hold onto these values. The problem is that those living in urban areas take advantage of this generosity and traditional hospitality.
‘Watu wa Nairobi‘ (People from Nairobi) have been called out more than once for showing up in the village with KSh 500 (USD 3.80) and leaving with their vehicles packed full of potatoes, maize, millet flour, cabbages, kale, milk, cassava, mangoes, avocados, matoke, pumpkins – and a whole harvest of traditional vegetables.
Even how we eat changed (the fork and knife were never ours)
Foreign influence on Kenyan cuisine is felt on so many levels, more than just food. It’s in the etiquette taught to staff in restaurants, how tables are set, even how meals are eaten.
As a guest, you’re typically offered a fork and knife. This type of cutlery was introduced into the country by the British as they established themselves in East Africa. But many traditional Kenyan foods were never meant to be eaten this way. Across most African communities, eating with your hands is the norm.
Imported etiquette quietly contributes to erosion of dining traditions. In some communities in Kenya, calabashes were used as plates. With their rounded nature, introducing forks and knives into this setup would be a total disaster. It’s a small detail, but one that’s part of a bigger picture showing a slow fade of local mealtime traditions.
Communal eating was once central to Kenyan hospitality
Before colonial influence, mealtime etiquette across East Africa – and the continent more widely – varied from community to community. But one thread ran through them all: hospitality.
African hospitality meant that everyone present during a meal would be served. It did not matter whether you were part of the family or just passing by. If you arrived at someone’s home around mealtime, you ate. More food would be cooked, or what was available would be shared equally among those present.
There was no need to alert your host days in advance. People took pride in shared meals and communal gatherings. Eating together wasn’t just expected, it was very much part of life.
Today, some rural areas in Kenya still hold onto these values. The problem is that those living in urban areas take advantage of this generosity and traditional hospitality.
‘Watu wa Nairobi‘ (People from Nairobi) have been called out more than once for showing up in the village with KSh 500 (USD 3.80) and leaving with their vehicles packed full of potatoes, maize, millet flour, cabbages, kale, milk, cassava, mangoes, avocados, matoke, pumpkins – and a whole harvest of traditional vegetables.
Is hospitality and dining in Kenya being ‘reclaimed’?
Many colonial ideologies still remain in many corners of Kenya’s hospitality industry. Back in the ’90s and early 2000s, the entire tourism industry in Kenya seemed designed almost entirely for foreigners or for very wealthy Kenyans. It is as though the ordinary Mwananchi (citizen) was thought to have no interest in a safari at the Mara.
But things have been slowly changing.
Tour companies like Bonfire Adventures were among the first to provide services to the local tourists, coming up with travel packages such as “jaza ndege twende Diani” – direct translation, “Fill the plane we go to Diani.” As Kenya’s middle class has grown, more companies have stepped in to meet this rising demand.
Restaurants, too, have changed.
A growing number of places now serve more traditional types of Kenyan food, for example, Mama Oliech Restaurant in Nairobi. A darling to the locals, this is where foreign dignitaries and influential figures are welcomed when they come to Kenya. Mark Zuckerberg famously ate there in 2016, tucking into tilapia and ugali. President Barack Obama also had a taste while visiting family in Kogello, in western Kenya. Idris Elba also named Mama Oliech as a favourite place to eat in the city.
Other places like Olepolos in Kiserian cater to Kenyans’ enduring love for nyama choma (roast meat). While these restaurants still include popular Kenyan staples like pilau and chapati on their menus, they don’t completely disregard other dishes recognized as Kenyan, and they often include them on their menus.
Even food delivery apps are making traditional meals more accessible—not just to tourists, but to Kenyans in cities who want quick, affordable, familiar food.
Words by Valerie Keter @valerie_keter
