Host offerings
Grace learned to cook from her mother and grandmother when she was a young girl. Her love for cooking grew when she got married and learned additional cooking skills from her late husband who was a great cook. Grace lives with her daughter in the outskirts of Nairobi city and currently works for an NGO that offers business training to women. Sharing cultures and making people feel at home when they are away from their home is what she most enjoys about hosting travelers. Apart from cooking Grace also loves to read and swim. <br><br> Get a glimpse into a typical Kenyan household and experience the Kenyan lifestyle and cuisine during this private, authentic food experience.
Please note menu might vary. If there are particular dishes you are interested in trying, please include your request in the booking form.
In-home meal (1 - 4 guests) Grace lives in a simple, modest Kenyan household in Kikuyu, a suburb about 30 minutes from Nairobi center. Her home has a large living room with many couches for chatting, swapping stories, and tasting Kenyan cuisine. Being on the outskirts of the city, her apartment block has a nice view of the green agricultural land.
Grace likes to showcase traditional Kenyan cuisine - both the kind of food her mother cooked when she was growing up as well as dishes from different tribes. Grace says that the traditional food of Kenya is as mixed and diverse as its tribes, history and landscapes. Your menu might include dishes such as ugali (mashed cornflour) or Kenyan pilau (spiced rice), meat stew, githeri (beans and corn) or mukimo (mashed potatoes and greens), and matoke (fried plantains and potatoes).
Cooking experience (1 - 4 guests) Join Grace in her modestly sized kitchen to cook a traditional tribal meal. Please note that because Grace’s kitchen is very small she will be doing most of the cooking while you watch. She will have you help whenever possible. Due to space constraints this is more of cooking demonstration rather than a hands-on cooking class. Grace will share wonderful stories about her grandmother (who is over 100 years old!) making mukimo for the family, and other variations of the dish that you can make with pantry ingredients. Learn to cook mukimo (mashed potatoes and greens) or ugali (mashed corn flour mixed with water) or pilau (spiced rice) and local vegetables during this one hour authentic Kenyan cooking demonstration in a local home.
Market visit (1 - 4 guests) Meet Grace at her home and together take a cab to the nearby Kikuyu market. The Kikuyu market is in the Kikuyu town - it’s not a big market but has all the ingredients necessary for your cooking class. This a small, basic market that locals frequent to buy vegetables, fruits and other ingredients needed to cook a Kikuyu tribal meal. You will purchase a few ingredients at the market and head back to Grace's home to cook or eat together, depending on the experience chosen.
Notes: Grace lives in the suburbs of Nairobi, a 30-45 minute drive from Nairobi city center (depending on traffic). The location is not easy to find via public bus, however, Uber and other taxis do go there. Please note that her apartment is on a long rough dirt road. The dirt road might be difficult for smaller sedan taxis especially during the rainy season. <br><br> Grace can also arrange transport for you - she is happy to offer hotel pick up and drop off at an additional cost. If you would like this option please select "Yes" to transportation in the booking form.
Languages spoken: #<HostLanguage::ActiveRecord_Associations_CollectionProxy:0x00007f5920ba9d90>
This is just a sample menu to give you an idea of the types of dishes the host cooks. Your menu will vary according to seasonal availability.
A Traveling Spoon ambassador visited this host. Here is their personal review.
Grace learned how to cook from her grandmother who is still cooking at the age of 100! Together, we cooked mokimo – a mixture of potatoes, beans, maize, onions and local green vegetables. Definitely the best mokimo that I’ve had in the 5 years I’ve been here! This filling and vibrantly green mixture is a common dish throughout East Africa, but is more commonly found in Central Kenya among Kikuyus. Grace’s home is very tidy and welcoming, located in a suburb of Nairobi called Kikuyu. For those new to Kenya, the drive into Kikuyu town will give you a more accurate view of typical local life, and give you some nice greenery on the drive. In a big city like Nairobi, it may be easy to assume that most residents shop at the big fancy shopping malls, but in fact, this experience will give you a more accurate look at life for majority of city residents. Grace has worked most recently for an NGO with a lot of international volunteers, and is a great conversationalist.”
Alison, Traveling Spoon Ambassador
Pricing (per person)*
| 1 person | 4 people | 5+ people | |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-Home Meal | $36 | $30 | Not offered |
| Cooking Experience + Meal | $46 | $40 | Not offered |
| Market Tour + Meal | $46 | $40 | Not offered |
| Market Tour + Cooking Experience + Meal | $56 | $50 | Not offered |
| Transportation | $40 per car | ||
| *Does not include 3% payment processing fee applied at checkout. | |||
| Lunch | Dinner | |
|---|---|---|
| In-Home Meal | 12:00pm - 02:00pm | |
| Cooking Experience + Meal | 11:00am - 02:00pm | |
| Market Tour + Meal | 10:00am - 12:00pm | |
| Market Tour + Cooking Experience + Meal | 9:00am - 12:00pm |
Traveling Spoon connects you with meaningful culinary experiences, from private cooking lessons to homecooked meals in people's homes. Enjoy an immersive cultural experience that gives you a glimpse into the local way of life.
