Chickpea Fritters by Chef Geena Wanjiru Gichuhi, H&S Chef Of The Month

H&S Chef Of The Month

Chef Geena Wanjiru Gichuhi

Nationality: Kenyan

Interview With H&S Magazine

Who Is Geena Wanjiru Gichuhi?

I’m a young food lover who isn’t afraid of experimenting and loves that I get to incorporate my multiple talents into what I do.

I’m a Private Chef and Food Stylist, currently based in Nairobi, Kenya. I’m in my fourth year of work. As a Private Chef, I primarily handle meal preps and small gatherings, such as celebratory lunches and dinners. As a Food Stylist, I collaborate with Food Photographers and Marketing Agencies, styling food mainly for advertising purposes. Combining these two roles has been a great epiphany for me. I’ve interacted with many people I could never have dreamt of meeting, and the joy and satisfaction once the job is done are immeasurable.

My work has allowed me to travel around the country and experience different people, their ways of life, and various foods.

My favourite line is, “I serve a smile on a plate.”

 

Type Of Cuisine?

I absolutely love my heritage and where I come from, so everything I cook is heavily influenced by Kenyan Swahili culture. My mum’s smoky pilau and biryani, along with all the lovely sweets like kaimati, jalebi, mitai, and many others that are so close to my heart, are why I prefer Swahili cuisine.

 

What Inspired You To Become A Chef?

My earliest memory of myself in the kitchen is when I decided to make a yoghurt cake. I had just watched Martha Stewart bake on TV. I was 9 years old, it was a big flop, and I was forced to eat it all by myself! I also remember how I would only read magazines and books for their illustrations and pictures of recipes. I can name numerous instances that inspired me to become a chef. The one that fully cemented the idea is that both my parents worked as chefs in their lives, so if it’s clearly in my blood, why would I want to fight nature as it takes its course?

 

What Is The Biggest Challenge You Have Faced In The Culinary Industry?

My biggest challenge in my line of work is knowing when to stop. Sometimes, as an entrepreneurial chef, it’s so easy to get caught up in the wheel and forget to take rest because you’re always aiming to hit your goals. Therefore, every day I make sure to practice gratitude and remember what’s actually important to me instead of always running after the next milestone.

 

What’s Your Biggest Achievement In The Culinary Industry?

So far, my biggest achievement is being able to incorporate my artistic self and my talent to cook into one. For some time, I could only work as either, but now being able to do both is amazing. Not many people can boast of coming in as both a Food Stylist and a Pro-Chef.

 

When It Comes To Cooking, What Is More Important To You, The Technique, The Ingredients Or The Creativity?

I’d say technique is the most important, because no matter how high the quality of ingredients one is working with, without the knowledge of how to work with them to create the tastiest dish, it’s all for nothing.

Creativity comes in second. As a chef, you need to be able to come up with great flavour combinations that may seem unusual to others but work together beautifully. Being solution-oriented is also part of being creative. The lack of some ingredients and menu creation require one’s creative juices to be flowing.

Recipe Of The Week: Chickpea Fritters

The Chickpea Fritters

Ingredients:

• 200g boiled chickpeas
• 100g gram flour
• 2 pcs red onion (chopped)
• 100g chopped coriander
• 1 Tsp onion powder
• 1 Tsp garlic powder
• 1 Tsp coriander powder
• ½ Tsp ground black pepper
• Vegetable oil (for deep-frying)

The Carrot Slaw

Ingredients:

• 5 pcs carrots
• 1 pc red onion
• 100ml white vinegar
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt to taste

 

Preparation: The Chickpea Fritters

Begin by blitzing the chick peas, gram flour, coriander and chopped onion with all the spices in a blender for 4 minutes until chunky. Now add some mixture into your palms to shape into balls, add some gram flour in case the mixture is too runny. Heat a pan with vegetable oil and once hot enough, fry the fritters for about 4 minutes until golden brown and set aside.

Preparation: The Carrot Slaw

Peel the carrots and onions, then cut into juliennes and add to a bowl, then drizzle vinegar and olive oil on top of the carrots and onions and add salt to taste and mix with a spoon and set aside.

 

Plating

In a plate, place your chickpea fritters with the carrot slaw on the side & serve!