Nyama choma with a michelin star
Kenyans have been bewitched with Nyama (Swahili for meat); there is nearly no social function that can happen without meat sizzling over the promising flames of a charcoal grill.
Whether formally induced in a five-star hotel, or a meeting of friends who have no desire to catch up at the cinemas, nyama is code for having a good time.
I don’t know if it’s ancient ancestral rites that have anything to do with it, where when a cow or goat is slaughtered, music, dancing children and a bonfire are sure to follow, but nyama is pretty much the sum of many things.
Kenyans love it so much, there’s a nursery rhyme that was sung during break-times in schools that really meant absolutely nothing.
Nyama x 3; Response — Nyama
Ya Kondoo (Sheep); Response — Nyama
Ya Ngurue (Pig); Response — Nyama
I can’t even remember what the end game was. But I am quite happy I remembered that little detail.
So take my word for it, you cannot ever visit Kenya without being whisked to a nyama choma (grilled) joint by a well-meaning citizen.
Recently, however, an entertainment company called the Good Earth Group threw a spanner in the works; they opened a restaurant called Nyama Mama. Mama is what they call the group CEO, while nyama is, well…
At first I thought it would just have all sorts of nyama, a dream for those who love that brown singe from the fire, but it turned out that they were more than that… the Good Earth Group had taken on the daunting not-easy-to-understand task of revolutionizing Kenyan cuisine; using nyama as a cover or more accurately, as a way to inspire familiarity.
Your usual local delicacies of goat choma (grill), chapatti, githeri (maize and beans), ugali (maize meal) and sukuma wiki (kale) are used in brilliant fashion to form brand new dishes, sometimes with a bit of western influence but mostly in some form of culinary adventure — and all orchestrated by 24-year-old executive chef Lesiamon.
See for yourself in the pictures below:
Nyama Mama is also known for Signature cocktails, which completely compliments the spunk of the interior décor.
Let’s have some nyama, shall we?
Disclaimer: Nyama Mama does not have a Michelin star. It’s an expression in the title to indicate the kind of culinary style being adopted by the establishement.
Nyama Mama is located at Delta Towers in Westlands, Nairobi.