ANITA KERAI
Anita’s Kitchen
Hello, my name is Anita, and my passion is in the world of cooking and food, as well as presenting culinary magic on the television.
You might have seen me doing such things as ‘Return to Kenya’ or ‘Flavours of Kenya’, where I cook a variety of different delicious vegan and vegetarian dishes, all of which take inspiration from the meals of my home coupled with my unique flair and passion.
My journey to creating Anita’s Kitchen began many years ago when I was a child. Born as a third-generation Gujarati Indian, and raised in Kenya, I was the eldest of my siblings. Because I was oldest, it was natural that I helped my parents to do all of the chores, such as cooking. Their exceptional skill and passion for food meant that I fell in love with the culinary world from a young age. Every stage of the process appealed to me, from the careful selection of ingredients and supplies to the almost captivating act of creating a meal.
Of course, a lot of people have a passion for food, but it wasn’t until around ten years ago when I welcomed my incredible daughter into the world that I began to consider a career following what I love seriously. As many will probably figure out, my passion outweighed my commitment to my then job as a qualified accountant. It took me until 2017 to finally start walking the path I’d envisioned – that as a chef and food presenter. I enjoy writing recipes and leading my own cookery school. I like to give back to people and make sure that my passions are being followed.
However, as you may know, my new passion is Anita’s Kitchen! It’s something I work on all the time, and I’m so glad to have it in my life. It’s my cookery school where I try and teach people how to create incredible dishes that are healthy and suitable for on the go. Return to Kenya is actually a growing TV series on Amazon Prime! It’s available in the UK, Europe and the US!
Like any good meal, my cooking pot of influences is mixed and varied, with inspirations coming from Africa, Italy, the Middle East and of course Gujarati. All of these different perspectives and motifs mean that I’ve had more than enough muses to come up with a cooking style that emphasises simple, healthy meals but at the same time not wasting food and being environmentally conscious in the kitchen. Living in the way I did as a child, where nature was so abundant and so beautiful, I’ve always felt a need to keep it safe and look after it, so all my recipes try and be as protective as possible.
My ultimate aim, in truth, is to pass on my love of cooking and green living onto as many people as I can. Being vegan or vegetarian can be daunting, and you can feel like you don’t know what to do. I’ve lived like this all my life, so I know that it’s possible to have a wonderfully delicious diet and still be as green as you want. I hope to expand my reach even further than it is now, and show the world how to enjoy food while respecting the environment. It was common so many years ago and still is in certain parts of the world – I want to make it global!
I also host a series on Amazon Prime called Return to Kenya and Flavours of Kenya showcasing Kenya as a must see destination as well as showing the Kenyan cuisine which not well–known in the western world and how it is a melting point of different cultures but also raise awareness for conservation and preservation of Kenya’s wildlife, nature and forests. Also third generation Kenyan-Indians consider themselves Kenyans than Indian as Kenya is their home. I want to share the culture and the food tradition that I grew up with to the rest of the world.