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Renowned chef from Kenya’s coastal region, Maliha Mohammed, has announced an upcoming national cooking competition.
In an interview with Radio Jambo’s Moses Sagwe, Maliha revealed details about the competition she has dubbed the ‘National DUO Cooking Competition,’ which will take place across five counties.
“I am organizing a national cooking competition where five counties—Mombasa, Lamu, Kisumu, Nakuru, and Nairobi—will each present two-member teams to compete in the finals,” Maliha explained.
Regarding the competition's structure and transparency, the chef said:
“This competition will see two-member teams working together in a culinary showdown. I will visit these five counties. We start with auditions, and once participants are selected, the following day will be the competition where only one team from each county will emerge victorious to represent their county in the grand finale on October 19.”
Maliha disclosed that they have already conducted the first round of auditions to select the team representing Mombasa in the finals. The auditions, held on August 10 and 11, resulted in Suhaila and her daughter Manthura being chosen as the winners.
Upcoming auditions will take place in Lamu on August 24 and 25 to select the county’s representatives for the finals.
Chef Maliha happily shared that her national competition has already secured a sponsor (a flour brand), and the winning team from the October 19 finale will receive a cash prize of 100k and be awarded the title ‘Kenya’s No.1 Duo Cooking Champs.’
But what inspired Chef Maliha to launch this national competition?
“It has been 10 years since I participated in a cooking reality competition. I was the third-place winner in Kenya (Royco’s ‘Fuata Flava’ Season 1) in 2014. I did not receive any recognition or reward. I feel celebrating these 10 years is my way of honoring the support I received from my late mother, who passed away a week before I entered that competition.”
Maliha stressed that, in addition to showcasing cooking skills, this competition aims to revive the authenticity of African culinary traditions, particularly Swahili cuisine, which has diminished in the current generation.
Chef Maliha’s international profile rose last year after her attempt to set a new Guinness World Record in cooking, although her attempt did not meet the standards.
She had cooked continuously for 90 hours, but Guinness World Record officials reported that there were violations of the terms during her cooking process.
