Food & Drinks
Sunday brunch: It’s an all-you-can-eat feast…but how much can you have?
Wednesday October 18 2023
A charcuterie plate with cheese at a Sunday brunch at Villa Rosa Kempinski. PHOTO | POOL
As the weekend arrives and some people are searching for things to do, others are ready for a Sunday brunch. The meal that is in-between breakfast and lunch has grown in popularity, prompting more Kenyan hotels to set up a feast.
From couples with children, young women in gangs, a man who may have returned home at 7am on Sunday and said, ‘babe let’s go and eat’, to parents with teenagers who eat while absentmindedly scrolling through their phones, diners are embracing flavours and ingredients never before associated with Kenyan taste, served at brunches.
At the Villa Rosa Kempinski in Nairobi, diners glide from one chafing dish to another — from salads to biryani, to seafood and the various cheeses near the saxophonist vibrating Sauti Sol’s Midnight Train.
They then take a right turn towards a queue. It is the nyama choma station where two chefs are roasting meat.
“The diners’ favourites are the nyama choma station, dessert room, Asian and Italian dishes,” says Andreas Mensch, the executive chef at the Villa Rosa Kempinski.
Indian dishes at Sunday’s Tour de Brunch at Villa Rosa Kempinski in Nairobi. PHOTO | POOL
“We have seen a gradual increase in the turnout with each brunch, as it gains popularity. We are now at the point where we are fully booked before the day of the event,” he adds.
Though this is a high-end restaurant, children running around with painted faces and warped balloons tied to their heads do not invite sneers.
Amid the crowd of casually but elegantly dressed diners, babies dot the brunch area. Others are in the entertainment room, while others are convincing the pastry chef in the ‘sweet room’, with over 50 types of chocolate, why they should dip a finger in the flowing white chocolate fountain.
When the sugar rush kicks in, another tiny child starts biting off the big chocolate table.
Many parents dread dining with children. But here, it feels homey.
Adult diners can start with tea or coffee, croissants and other breakfast fixtures before moving along to the meats, then later slake their thirst with drinks in the Tanquery, Magarita, Vodka and Nitrogen bars.
For years, fine dining restaurants have excluded children, but going big on foods and games that attract young diners has paid off.
“Sunday brunches are meant for families, children play a key role in the decision-making of where to spend Sunday outings. We, therefore, ensured we had a wide selection of cuisine and sufficient children’s activities to keep them entertained both young and teenagers,” Chef Andreas says.
Lobsters and other kinds of seafood at a Sunday brunch at Villa Rosa Kempinski. PHOTO | POOL
“The strategy has paid off. We never miss a birthday party celebration at any brunch and our regular clients are usually extended families. It’s also not rare to see mums with newborns celebrating their first post-birth meal, because of how well we have curated the brunch to suit the family.”
Creative showcase
To some, a brunch menu may seem the hardest to write. How do you mix breakfast items with others? But Chef Andreas says the Sunday brunch concept offers chefs flexibility to showcase their skills and creative flair, at the same time providing room to explore new cuisines, which is also a win for the guests.
Gin cocktail at a Sunday brunch at Villa Rosa Kempinski. PHOTO | POOL
Every Sunday, he plans more than nine stations of a cooked feast.
It is a melting pot of Asian, French, Hungary, Kenyan, Japanese and American dishes, tempting diners’ ever-curious taste buds.
There are many types of seafood, salads and variations of rice, barbecued pork, sushi, pasta, veggies and meats. Basically, any food you can imagine.
Yet it is at the Kenyan station where a chef is grilling nyama choma that there is a queue. A long queue. What is it with Kenyans and nyama choma? Surely the brunch has over 60 dishes.
I get to find out why when I am finally served my meat. Cut in a perfect size, the nyama choma quickly softens in the mouth, then unleashes flavour much more liberally than most meats I have tasted.
Having vowed that I would eat only what I could not cook at home, I had already over-indulged in many pieces of French beef, cooked in wine — very tasty.
Brunch in Nairobi can be anything a foodie might dream of, but there is only so much you can eat. You would think that you can eat and drink for four hours straight but this is unlikely.
Donuts at the pastries brunch section at Villa Rosa Kempinski in Nairobi. PHOTO | POOL
Chocofull room
There was another equally busy station that attracted “tiny mouths”: a room full of chocolates.
“The children mill at candy cone stations, as well as a ‘Sweet Room’ dedicated entirely for desserts — this is where you’ll find most of them lingering,” Chef Andreas says.
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