FRANCIS KARIUKI
Development Chef Bakkavor Dessert UK

I was born in Laikipia County, in the rift valley ridges of Kenya. I grew up in a typical rural family setting. My parents were small scale farmers. They believed in the power of Education and they gave me the best they could.

My Uncle took me at a tender age and brought me to Nairobi in 1980, where I joined Highridge Primary School in Parklands, I sat for my CPE in 1983. I later joined Gatero Secondary School in Laikipia for my O’levels.

After I completed my O’levels, I really wanted to join Utalii College, but it was the most difficult college to join at the time. It took 3 years of trying and failing to get a place but I never gave up and 1991 a relative came to my rescue and he was able to secure me a job as a Kitchen Porter at the Utalii College Kitchen. My roles included cleaning the Student Dining Hall, Serving Students, setting up the tables and Kitchen pot wash. This however became a platform for me to join college. I enrolled for a 3 year Food Production Course, which I completed in 1993. I went on to fine tune my professional career at Utalii Hotel as a Pastry Commis Chef, and by the time I left Utalii Hotel in 1998 I was a Senior Pastry Chef de Partie.

I moved to Japan for further training, through a member of JICA who had seen my potencial and my eagerness to learn new things. I was employed in a Cake Factory in UMEGAOKA Tokyo Prefecture under Chef OKAMOTO HATSUMI. Having been my first time abroad, life was extremely challenging. Learning the Japanese Language, learning a new alphabet of Hiragana and Katakana, fast paced world, Culture, and balancing life and work. It was also very expensive.

In 2000 I moved to Jersey Channel Islands of the UK. My 1st Job was at the 1star Michelin Atlantic Hotel as the 2nd Pastry Chef. It was only a 9 month contract, since they closed in Winter. I therefore moved to a neighbouring Hotel L’Horizon at the famous St Brelades Bay which operated all year round. I was employed as an assistant Pastry Chef and after two years of service, I became the Head Pastry Chef. I maintained the Hotel Restaurant 2star Rosette for a period of 5 years and in 2005 I was transferred to a sister Hotel, The Rhinefield House, Brockenhurst New Forest. I worked there as the Head Pastry Chef for 7 years and I was honored with a 10 year long service award within the Hand Picked Hotels UK.

After working in the Hotel Industry for a total of 18 years across three Continents, it was time to have a career change. I wanted more time to myself and my young family. What a better move than to Manufacturing. In 2012 I moved to Isleport Foods (Bakkavor Desserts Highbridge) as a Development Chef. This Job transformed my Career path for ever, It gave me an opportunity to learn, develop and use my experience to create Desserts for the UK retail Market. There nothing as satisfying as developing a product from raw material, to concept, to factory process, to packaging and seeing it through into the Supermarket shelf. We Developed British Desserts with a modern twist for the UK major retailers, Tesco, Sainsbury, Waitrose, Morrisons and Co-op. There was so much to learn, a friendly team, and an opportunity of a lifetime.

Today I am proud to say that the business has grown to four Dessert sites, and happy to be part of the success story of this group. Despite the ever changing economical challenges we are still going strong. In 2020 we are working with our customers on Zero waste management, Plastic free environment, Sugar reduction, Salt reduction, Fat reduction, Veganism, and Healthy Dessert.

Working in the Manufacturing Industry has helped me to give back to the society that I come from, We started the KENYAN CHEFS IN KENYA AND ABROAD group on Facebook in 2013 and we have more than 3K members world wide. It is a group for Kenyan, Food and Pastry Professionals. Under this platform we have been able to motivate young up-and-coming chefs, and culinary professionals, who represent the vanguard of contemporary Kenyan dining scene. They have strong, compelling culinary philosophies and are committed to fostering a culinary community by sharing their knowledge with fellow professionals and in return it will elevate Kenyan Chefs to the Global stage. I pride myself as a mentor and an inspiration to many aspiring cooks. I hope to return to Kenya as an Advisor and Consultant for Kenya Restaurant, Hotel and Food Manufacturing seeking to preserve our Identity as a Culinary Hub.

Happy Madaraka Day 2020

Development Chef Kariuki FM
Working experience in Kenya, Japan and UK.
Graduate of Kenya Utalii college with honours