Conversation with Dad On His Trip To America

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I love trying out new restaurants and cuisines. Food, I feel opens your mind as much as travel and books do. It makes you think about the origin of a dish, the cultural impact it has on a country and of course, the most obvious one, it tastes delicious.
On this podcast, I sit down with Chef Wycliff Nduati of Wycliffs' Kitchen right here in Columbus. I met him at his restaurant after work and after the last customer for the day had walked out, he greeted us (husband and I) with a smile still fresh, even after a long day. And we talked about his childhood, his journey as a chef and Kenyan food.
I have tried to transcribe the podcast here, if you are into reading more than listening :)
Is your name pronounced Y-Cliff or V-cliff?
It depends on where you come from. If you speak American English, it's Y-cliff and if you speak British English, it's Wicliff. But it doesn't matter. I am fine with it, either way.
Could you tell us a little bit about your family, where you grew up?
I was born and raised in Kenya. I grew up in the rural areas of Kenya. I was fortunate enough to be raised by a dad who was an entrepreneur. He was a restaurateur as well. He had a restaurant, a shop and he was a butcher. So, growing up, he treated me and my siblings as his workforce and he trained. So, for me, cooking and being a restaurateur is natural.
But for the most part, my dad wanted me to concentrate more on the business side and he wanted me to keep out of the kitchen. But, I admired how people could turn ingredients into something amazing, that people can eat. And I learnt most of my cooking from just watching. And because of my interest, I would try things out and I would always impress people with my cooking.
And when did you come to the US?
I came to the US in 2006. I came here for school. I graduated from Franklin University
with a Bachelors Degree in Accounting and Forensic Accounting.
So, completely a different field from what you are in right now.
Yes, That's because cooking and restaurant is a way of life for me. When I migrated to the US, I was in Indiana before I moved to Columbus and I was very disappointed that I couldn't find the food that I loved and was used to. And I would go to parties and would have Kenyan food and would say "This is not Kenyan food", even though, it was made by Kenyans.
I knew I could cook better than that. And then, my friends would tell me to cook Kenyan food for them. And that's how I found my way back to all of this.
Your friends kind of pushed you into this?
Only because, they knew my background in restaurant and cooking. They would request me to make something for their parties and they would be amazed at how authentic the food was. They started ordering more quantity and would offer to pay for the food. And that is how we started.
Then we started making baked goods from home. And my wife, back in Kenya, had a lot of training in cooking Kenyan food. She's one of the most amazing chefs.
So, it was a perfect match.
Yes. We enjoy cooking and we are both passionate about food. our concept is to keep it fresh. That's the things about Kenyan food. There's no shortcut to it. If you try to do that, the food doesn't taste as good. All our spices are from Kenya.
We take our time with every dish. All our meals are made from scratch. We try to cook as less as possible and try retain all the nutrients of vegetables.
And it reflects on the food. It's delicious.
Thank you.
And your restaurant is the first Kenyan Restaurant in Columbus?
Yes, and in Ohio, Indianapolis and in this area. I think the next one you'll find is in Maryland and the DC area.
It's the only East African restaurant, in terms of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Because we share our cuisine, 95% of it.
If I were to go to Kenya, would I get the same flavor as I get here or do you Americanize it a little bit?
We try to keep it authentic. We try to bring the memories of Kenya into our restaurant. This has turned out to be more of a destination. Whoever has traveled to Kenya, whenever they hear about us, they want to come to our restaurant as soon as they can. And when they come here, they are never disappointed.
It's like being back home.
Yes, and that's what our intention is. When you walk into our restaurant, we want you to feel like you are right in Kenya. We keep it authentic. We don't try to americanize it. But we make sure it's comfortable t...