Sa-far-i-way from home by Kevin Barron Part 2 Executive Chef Ole Sereni Hotel Kenya

Kevin Barron is Executive Chef at Ole Sereni Hotel Kenya, Kevin shares his overseas journey, offering a Chefs' eye view, of the life of an Ex-Pat in Kenya

PART 2 (Part 1 can be viewed HERE) So notice goes in we cancel all the bills sky,phones had a big problem with the house we rented and ended up losing 900 odd pounds in deposit etc etc. So I was/am very close to the Group Exec of the company who owns Whittlebury Hall where I was Head Chef and was a little hesitant in telling him I was going both he and the company and indeed the group GM Mr Mark Jones had been good to me but also recognized the need for me to grow and agreed it was a good opportunity that I could use. We have a few leaving do's, work buys me some lovely things as a thank you amongst others  a nice jacket with all the boys and girls I had worked with and their national flags, Polish, Bulgarian, Maltese, Indian to name a few, the jacket is actually here with me in Kenya, I must frame it. All our house and my lovely BMW goes into garages at my mum's place, ( only later to be broken into and stuff thieved, but again that's later) I buy a nice laptop which the company will reimburse me when we get there so loads of cds go on and recipes and procedures and all sorts are loaded up. Sad to be leaving but also feel excited about what lies ahead we should be open in January!!!!! So on the Kenya Airways flight we go 8 and a bit hours to Kenya"¦"¦"¦ The CEO told us we would need to pay 50 US Dollars each upon entry for our vises so I make sure that's ready and in the wallet, so it's ready for when we land. We land and are picked up now I am chomping at the bit to see this hotel I had only seen in plans and artists impressions, with all its African artifacts and modern design, and also the gleaming kitchens where I would ply my trade. I am a fan of the phrase "˜I shit you not' but I have never had a more "˜I shit you not' moment than when we leave Jomo Kenyatta Int'l Airport, the hotel is a 10-15 minute drive and as we pass the hotel the CEO says theres the hotel I look and see a shell"¦"¦"¦I mean a shell, gaping holes where windows will go and no actual walls just concrete "˜stuff' Ania looks at me and I look at her and im feeling bad as I didn't sign up for this and it was never told to us we wouldn't be ready by January, not once, an all the following phone calls and e-mails, ready by January?? This place wont be ready by next Christmas never mind bloody January, I feel to be honest lied to and pretty shitty about what we have now done, He must have sensed our mood as the CEO says oh it wont be so long until its done!! Yeah righty!!! So he takes us to our apartment and yes very very nice, all open-plan, 3 bedrooms and bonus a pool right in front of the house oh yes!! Maybe things are looking up. He shows us round introduces us to Moses who will be our House-Boy a name I have never got used to and find belittling, so Moses basically washes and cleans 6 days a week for us, a little weird, we would eventually let him go and we now have a driver so Ania is able to get around easily, having a driver works very well for us and Ania is happier keeping house then having someone there cleaning all the time, the CEO leaves us for a nap as we were on the overnight flight and are tired but not so tired to have a nosey round, another Jesus!! Moment when we realise there are bars and gates on all the windows and doors, the gates actually padlock so when we go out we shut the front door lock it and then close the iron gate and padlock it!!!   Wow!!!!   where are we but to be honest now its normal and you don't notice them and everyone has them. Nice apartment though and it has everything in place for us and our new car a cheeky little 4x4 Honda CRV not so bad but I would prefer the open top beemer, is sat outside so we are ready anyway. The CEO's wife comes back for us and takes us for lunch at a nearby mall, its not all bad and actually quite modern and dare I say"¦"¦civilized? We had changed some money at the airport and fell like millionaires as 300 sterling gets you over 36,000 shillings and a beer is 80 shillings in the supermarket, for me most chefs equate the cost of things to how much a beer is and for me that's cool. We go back to our place and have more of a nose around we are in a gated compound with a guard which at first is weird but after a while very normal in Kenya, I don't think twice about it now to be honest. One of the biggest things to move me in Kenya which I wasn't ready for was the time it gets dark not on any of the sites I looked up to find out more about Kenya tells you every day without fail darkness falls at 6.30-6.45 something even now after 2 years still gets to me!! So next day we wake to a really hot day lovely weather here, the CEO is picking us up to look at the hotel, well to take us to the site!!! It is very very far behind and again im getting real bad vibes as to what we have done and a "˜why didn't anyone say anything feeling but we go round actually the kitchens are nearly done and I find out later that a lot of the workers were put on this to make sure it was ready for when "the new chef from the UK gets here' Meet and greet with lots of people the hotel seems to have an army of people I meet Edward the HR maanger who to put it mildly, suprises me in his work ethics, he would later leave, a Chief Accountant, Lydia the lovely Exec HouseKeeper who is still here, 2 IT guys who are still here and still as funny,the FOM and also Allan a young vibrant Food and Beverage Manager who I am still friends with