Every February 14 is celebrated as a day of affection, coupled with gifts and flowers, all in the name of Valentine’s Day, or St. Valentine, a martyr who may never have enjoyed love.
In keeping up with that spirit of love and sharing, an upscale chain of restaurants, Café deli, hosted a special brunch at its Ngong Road branch on Wednesday, February 14, for journalists in recognition of the media industry’s invaluable role in educating, entertaining and informing the masses.
The chief executive of Nanjala, a company that runs Café deli restaurants, Obado Obadoh, said the thinking behind curating a delightful menu for members of the fourth estate on Valentine’s Day, was part of a move for them to connect, exchange ideas, and strengthen partnership.
“We picked Valentines because it is the day of love and we just wanted to spread love. It is all about love and sharing,” he said. “We are spreading love to you the African way… we are going to give you breakfast and lunch at once, and the reason why I appreciate you (media) is because we keep learning from you. A lot of the things we do we learn from you.”
The restaurateur said that the chain of restaurants, founded in 2007 with the key desire to fashion indigenous cuisines, currently has five branches.
““A lot of what I know and how I run Café deli is from media… we sit and decide ‘who do we invite?” so we unanimously agreed that the media deserve recognition and appreciation in 2024,” says Akello
The day’s menu featured “signature dishes and seasonal specialties”, including silver cyprinid or ‘omena’, pieces of meat dipped in “African vinegar” (ojuri or onjuri), traditional vegetables, local chicken, and fresh cakes prepared with love and care by the restaurant’s culinary team.
Five years ago, the company embarked on a programme dubbed “spreading love the African way” where every Valentine’s Day, it celebrates a group that is picked unanimously by its team and clients.
“We subscribe to Chinua Achebe’s call to invite a community to share a meal, not because they do not have food of their own, but because; it is good for people to come together,”it said in an invite sent to journos yesterday.
In 2019, it hosted orphans and vulnerable children from a home in Kayole. As of 2020, the focus was on elderly people from Thogoto Home for the old. However, the trend was briefly halted by the Covid outbreak in 2021, and would resume soon after, with an “epic honor” for doctors who were on the frontline during the pandemic in 2022.
Last year, after a charged elections period, the company celebrated the police who helped maintain peace during the period.
Journalists on attendance said it is a good gesture to recognize members of the fourth estate.
“You prepare good meals,” Kenya Union of Journalists’ Eric Oduor, said.
Ohito on his part urged Kenyans to abandon “modern fast foods” for common authentic like boiled arrow roots, cassava, ‘gidheri’, sweet potatoes, and cassava.
“Cafe deli supplied my lunch and dinner for the ten days I was in hospital,” editor emeritus David Ohito, said.
“It is a good gesture to recognize journalists,” Zadock Angira, Crime Journalists Association of Kenya chairperson, said.
