The internationally recognised AIB quality audit is conducted annually and focuses on good manufacturing practices such as process control and monitoring, personnel & hygiene standards, facilities and infrastructure and compliance to legal and regulatory product standards.

Upfield East and Southern Africa Managing Director, Peter Muchiri said the improved score was as a result of various measures taken by the organisation such as sustainable closure of previous AIB audit actions, implementation of FSSC 22000 standard which focuses on assuring end to end food safety, increased trainings and awareness sessions to staff, identifying gaps at the factory and facilitating closure and provision of CAPEX funds in closing actions that required huge capital investments.

“This quality audit means our factory is audited and graded against other factories worldwide using internationally recognised Good Manufacturing Practice standards. Our Nairobi factory achieved an A rating of 94.5% which means that our production environment, processes and site meet world class standards in terms of hygiene. Our consumers are therefore guaranteed of high-quality products” he said.

Upfield’s Head of Supply Chain for East and Southern Africa, Alice Majani said: “We remain committed to producing and selling high-quality products that meet global nutritional requirements whilst observing local statutory and regulatory requirements. Our production environment will remain clean and of world-class standard in order to deliver safe and best quality products always.”

Last year, Upfield Kenya attained an A classification of 90.5%, an improvement from a B classification the previous year.

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I did that last week after a chat with Rita Oyier, the proprietor of Heri.Online, and just three days after putting my order, a rider was at my gate with this fresh delivery which arrived still frozen.

On Saturday, I finally decided to grill my baby pork ribs. I do not have an oven so my double-sided grill pan came in very handy for this. The secret to achieving the perfect grills with this pan is knowing how to regulate your heat – this is something I have mastered with practice.

The cuts from the Farmers Choice baby pork ribs sold by Heri.Online are just perfect for the pan. You can fit up to three pieces of nicely cut ribs in a 36 cm double-sided pan. I did a simple marinade for my grill – mixed spices, vinegar for the sour-sweet taste, and some dark soy sauce for the nice brown colour. My salad was made from finely chopped cabbages, tomatoes, capsicum, fresh dhania , green chillies, vinegar and some mayonnaise. You can also buy already marinated pork ribs at only Ksh. 778/- if you are not a guesswork kinda person.

There is a lot more than just pork ribs or sausages from their easy to navigate website. You can do your weekly shopping here or buy your booze and have it delivered straight to your door, significantly reducing the amount of time you spend on shopping, and saving yourself some money on the great deals they have with various brands including Multichoice.

They currently do door to door delivery in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu. Try them out and let me know what you think about their services on the comments section.

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Hop House 13 is a flavorful lager from the house of Guinness available across Europe with Kenya being the first market in Africa to launch it.

Hop House 13 has both depths of flavor and crisp lager refreshment making it perfect for casual social occasions. Hop House 13 combines tradition and novelty, by balancing the care and experience 250 years of Guinness brewing provides, with a new, contemporary style of premium international quality lager.

Speaking at the launch, Kenya Breweries Limited Marketing Manager – Guinness, Ms. Nduku Wamakau said, “Hop House 13 will launch with an experiential event that will tap into all senses of our consumers allowing them to experience the excitement about this new lager from Guinness. It has been a great success across Europe where it is currently available, and we are very excited to be the first African country to showcase this great premium, international quality lager to our beer drinkers.”

Created in Dublin, and brewed locally in Kenya, it is double hopped for more taste and made with Guinness yeast and locally sourced malt and hops. It is a distinctive full-flavored lager bursting with zingy hoppiness and balanced with a malty finish. It has a sweet fruity aroma, with hints of apricot and peach, and subtle malt notes breaking through. It is full-flavored while still being crisp and hoppy (but not bitter) with a refreshingly clean finish.

The 4.1% ABV lager will be available for KSHS 210 per 500ml bottle.

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When you hear the tag restaurant or hotel in Kisumu, do not always try to associate it with 5 star dining. Most of the time you will be disappointed when you land in some dusty roadside shack.

“Mama Colo”  is quite the typical name of a roadside Kibanda that serves food in Kisumu’s peri-urban environs. I grew up eating lunches at Mama Safi in Nyalenda. It was quite the place back in the day. So as I drove from the office in the sweltering Kisumu sun…I had an idea of what to expect. Probably a replica of Mama Safi just this time the lady owner probably has a son called Collins. Mama Safi  was called that because she had spotless sufurias  that would blind your eye as they reflected Kisumu sun.

Mama Colo restaurant is located along Marine Drive, just a few meters after Lake View Hotel, not far from Swan Center. Lake View is one interesting place – the old know-it-all professors drinking at the bar being the hallmark of it all but we will talk about that another day.

The restaurant is actually called Mama Colombus. So no child named Collo…maybe Columbus but then again, this is Kisumu. The Hotel Might have been named after anything including Christopher Columbus. There is a long queue at the door. Bigger than the ones I saw on the photos from KFC. There are other Vibanda restaurants next to it but they don’t seem to have this kind of special activity. Mama Colo must be very popular or the food must be very good – based on what I have heard, I will go with the latter.

I wash my hands at the entrance and before I even make one turn, someone calls out my name.

“Ominde, so you decided to see for yourself,” mumbles Jefferson Ngozi as he tries to multitask between catching my attention and chewing the piece of chicken in his mouth.

“Mama Colo, huyu ni mgeni siku ya kwanza, mshughulikie vizuri anaweza kukuongeza wateja (Mama Collo, this is a first time visitor treat him well, he can bring you more clients) adds Edgar Odoyo, a corporate MC in Kisumu. I still don’t understand why they need her to get more customers while the place is literally full. It’s about 1 PM, there are about six of us on our feet waiting to get seats.

I spot another lady I know, exchange a quick wave. The crowd here is very diverse. There are the businessmen and tenderpreneurs  in casual clad. There are the guys who seem to have come from offices clad in official attire. There are the guys in suits too – I still don’t understand why someone would walk under the Kisumu sun in a suit and tie.

There are a significant number of ladies here too. Some are in the company of the men dressed like they came from offices. Others are on a lone mission like I am. There is one in a beautiful black dress standing behind me. She kinda looks out of place but she is very comfortable.

Edgar assures me that once I taste the chicken, there is no going back. I hear the KFC chicken is addictive too, the secret recipe’ thing…I wonder what could be Mama Collo‘s secret recipe’.

I find a place to sit after about five minutes of standing and chatting with Ngozi and Edgar. Actually, it’s Ngozi who leaves me his seat. As I wait for my order, I notice that almost everyone here knows someone in here. Maybe they all work in offices close to each other or maybe I just don’t know enough people.

The guys next to me have just ordered for ugali saucer and it took too long to come. They are now screaming at the top of their lungs (okay not quite literally, but they are a little loud). In case you haven’t been to a kibanda  ugali saucer is an extra serving of ugali that you do not actually pay for. It’s delivery depends on how loud you are or the moods of the waiter. If you are unlucky enough to order from a lady in the wrong time of the month, you will have a story to tell.

Their ugali saucer arrived moments after I had given my order of ugali with stewed chicken. They got a whole serving of ugali to share among the two of them. One managed to convince the other that more was coming and took it all. No more came. You can imagine the look on the other guy’s face. You know people have died because of things like this…Do not try that in Kakamega, ugali and chicken are not things to be taken lightly.

I saw a man’s face literrally light up when he saw the ugali on his friend’s table.

“Chairman abiro mana bet bathi kanyo. An mogo e watna (Chairman, I am sitting right next to you. Food is my only relative).”

The guys seated directly opposite me has a broken leg. He came in walking in crutches and more than a dozen guys have said hi to him and asked him how the leg is doing.To friends, it’s not just about the food. This is where they socialize for a quick minute during their lunch breaks. From the look of it, some of these people meet here daily.

The chicken stew seem to be the popular dish here even though I heard someone order fish and another one meat stew. The chicken costs either  Ksh. 200 (USD 2)  or Ksh. 150 (USD 1.5) depending on the size of the portion. The chicken tastes really good and it has some pilipili kwa umbali (cooked in mild pepper). Sort of the chicken you will eat in the village.

Several people are still standing on their feet. I hurry through my meal and hand over my seat to a lady who had been standing for a while but seemed not to mind waiting. Maybe she knows it’s worth it. Another guy makes his order despite being on his feet, he says as long as the chicken lands in his stomach he is alright.

Other than the amazing food, this restaurant allows you to rub into the Luo culture. Everyone here is proud, talks loud and does not mind calling for an extra serving of ugali.

PHOTO CREDITS: Joyce Osike

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The post Eating out in Kisumu: Mama Colo’s kibanda restaurant appeared first on Biz Post Daily.

Brian Weke in the building

Makosewe and the Ninjas

Ben, Fofona, Makosewe, Gogo and Ominde

And somebody decided to photo bomb!!

High School Re-union at the cookout!!

Beauties parade

Amazing sunset

Dj Sway shows Makosewe some love

The Ninjas are here!!

Makosewe and fans

They grow up too fast…yeah?

Fofona and Makosewe

Beautiful people

Beauties parade

who is the coolest of e’m all?

Brian Weke and fans

Dunga sunset

What more can I say!!

Odieros in the building

Shisha was in plenty

This is how the parking lot looked at 7.45 PM Sunday evening

Planning to move to Kisumu? Find a house to let here.

                            Follow me on Twitter @IamOminde
Photo credits: @makosewe @djswayjulu @IamOminde

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