BI ALICE TAABU: THE ORIGINAL CHEF

 

BI ALICE TAABU: THE ORIGINAL CHEF

Bi Alice Taabu has been cooking up a delicious storm since the seventies, whipping up sweet and savoury dishes that are mouth watering and guaranteed to leave one begging for me. For those of you new age Kenyans who have no idea who this lovely lady is, well pay close attention, for I am about to take you on a journey of livid experiences, way back in time during the KANU era, where life was simple, Kenya was sacred, men were righteous, women were loving and children were obedient. In those days, Madam Alice ruled the air waves with her hit television show known as Mke Nyumbani, which aired every Sunday, at half past four, at the break of evening. That was when the Voice of Kenya deemed it fit to come on air and broadcast its television programmes, until the midnight hour.

After every Sunday service, everyone rushed home, eagerly waiting to tune in to Bi Alice Taabu’s cooking show, even the ones that did not own a television set, were rushing to their neighbour’s house, hoping to be welcomed and perch on the living room floor, just so they could watch the highly anticipated production. Moreover, our church ministers were especially mindful not to drag church activities, to the extent that it would delay or clash with the already scheduled appetizing show.  Even the Kenya Power and Lighting company were keen on ensuring that electric power was well supplied in all urban areas, so as to have greater viewing. Needless to say, they were the brains behind the cooking show, therefore they had to strongly pull their weight, in support of Madam Alice and her magic grilling skills.

Exactly at half past four o’clock on evening of Sunday, Madam Alice appeared on our screens, gracing us with divine recipes, showing us how they are made from scratch and being generous with her studio audience with the final product, and the smile on their faces confirmed what we already knew. We could not only smell and taste the flavourful aromas wafting from her end and straight into our living rooms, we also were able to see the golden brown chapatis and mandazis on our black and white television sets. Heck, there was no need to write down the showcased recipes, for we were well able to absorb all the telecasted information in one sitting, without having the need to write anything down. How is that possible you ask? Well, I will let the youth of Kenya on a little secret. You see, in those golden days, we did not have the privileges of social media, where every experience is livid and in living colour. In those uncomplicated days, technology was base and analogue.

Our television sets had screens made of glass and the only colours that were emitted were black and white. However, since we were living very simple and sacred lives, like I mentioned before, our psychic abilities were in expanse, such that our senses kicked up a notch, and just like magic, we were able to smell, taste, see, and absorb every television programming in whimsical colours. But with the new age of social media, our brain senses have fried out with the twenty-four hour spectre of information bombarding us on all sides, such that we are no longer able to tap in to our genius like we used to before. Nonetheless, Bi Alice Taabu is a Kenyan like no other, having dedicated most of her time and talent in demonstrating to us the most splendid ways to cook and serve various dishes, with style and grace. She is from the Coast of Kenya, a place synonymous with great food and gifted culinarians, which explains why she is such an exemplary cook.

To all you Kenyans chefs or those who are aspiring to be chefs, know that Bi Alice Taabu is the original chef made in Kenya and it will do you good to familiarize yourself with her recipe book, as you might just find out that what you think or may have invented a new way serving up different type of dishes, you may be surprised that Bi Alice did it before you. Therefore, I would suggest that you acquaint yourself with Alice Taabu’s cookery book, just so that you learn a thing or two about the individual, her most famous dishes and cooking styles. Infact, if I was you, aspiring chef, I would hang a framed photo of Bi Alice Taabu next to that of the current president, in honour of this distinguished cuisiner.

These days, Bi Alice is still putting her culinary skills to good use, teaching her mentees on how to light up a kitchen with scrumptious delicacies, and passing the baton to the next generation of chefs. This lady deserves a Five-Stars award and a twenty one gun salute in her honour, every Mashujaa day. Infact, I would like to make a general request to the Kenya Power and Lighting company to consider and grant Bi Alice Taabu some shares in the company, for the outstanding service both for the company and for Kenya. I dare you to go ahead and make this prominent woman proud to have served you and Kenyans at large.

Here is a bouquet of flowers to you Bi Alice Taabu, for your longstanding service to the Kenyan populace; may you be forever be immortalized in this great nation, as you have been in our hearts.