The lawyer who has found her love language in cooking
Food blogger Juliet Kane in one of her recent shoots for her blog Kane's Kitchen Affair. Photo | Pool
What you need to know:
- 24-year-old Juliet Kane is a self-taught food blogger, content creator and the face behind the famous Kanes Kitchen Affair brand
“I did a diploma in video production for about a year in 2014. Late in September 2014, I enrolled into Law school at Kenyatta university, and graduated in 2018. In the midst of securing my degree, I started my cooking and blogging platform to share my love for cooking and content creation,” Juliet says.
This became Juliet’s creative outlet- aside from her painting and love for crafts. She graduated from the university in 2018 and joined Kenya School of Law in 2019 for a post graduate diploma and advocates training.
She is still in her content creation journey on different platforms, Including YouTube, Instagram, Tiktok and her blog: kaneskitchenaffair.com.
So, what exactly inspired her to be passionate about food and become a blogger?
Food blogger and content creator Juliet Kane at an event where she was the chef. Photo | Pool
She says, “I always had interest in cooking since I was young but I never really got to explore it until I moved out on my own when I was 17. Living alone and on a campus budget, I began to really explore my love for food through shows, other vlogs and experimenting,” the 24-year-old says.
“I would bake and share with my friends in school and I decided to start a blog to document my cooking. I also love writing and art and I believe food is a form of art. All these factors combined gave birth to Kane’s Kitchen Affair in early 2018,” she says.
Juliet does not have any formal training in the culinary arts, but she hopes to go to a school in future to refine her skills and knowledge. So far, all her training is through experimenting in her kitchen and learning from other food content creators.
Early food memories about food tend to create a love for cooking for a number of food bloggers and content creators.
“Eating chips and sausage from Kenchic in the light nylon papers every Sunday after church is mine. I absolutely loved Sundays,” she says laughing.
On the other hand, one childhood dish that means something to her are crepes. Or rather, her mother’s version of them.
She says, “They’re still my favourite breakfast to have till date because they remind me of peaceful Sunday mornings growing up.”
Juliet believes there are store-cupboard essentials that all great chefs should make sure they have in their kitchen. Black pepper, curry powder, stock cubes, ginger and garlic
The blogger-cum-lawyer says she is an avid street food and local food lover, especially for cuisines with the coastal region influence.
One of Juliet Kane's favorite recipes- The Creamy Mushroom Coconut Soup. Photo | Pool
“There’s this little place near my house with great shawarmas, kaimatis, bhajias and right next to it, the juiciest mutura. I’m always in awe of how good they are.”
But she also believes that the dining experience in Nairobi is diverse and full of life, and advices anyone who hasn’t eaten from here to start by exploring the street food scenery.
“Kenya has over 40 different tribes and most of these tribes have diverse food cultures that are all brought together in Nairobi. The simple, authentic and fresh flavours will help you appreciate the diversity of the Nairobi food culture.
“I love Misono Japan for the Teppanyaki grilled foods and fresh food and Mama rocks for their stunning and flavourful burgers.”
With the evolving food scene in Nairobi and the country in general, Juliet thinks we are headed in the right direction.
She says, “As we continue to diversify the flavour profiles in Nairobi, it opens us up to international food culture. There are definitely great gems in Nairobi. However, and unfortunately, some restaurants choose to focus too much on aesthetics, vibes and appearance rather than putting more focus on the food and flavour.”
Juliet believes that a lot of DIY cooking kits are some of the food trends we should expect in the near future.
“In the internet and easy delivery age, I think DIY cooking kits where one is just required to assemble the pre-packaged ingredients will be a great trend in 2022.”
On that note, there are countless of recipes, tips and tricks for the kitchen place that can be found on the web just by the click of a button, but Juliet trusts that intentionality is one cooking technique that can’t be learnt from YouTube because ‘cooking is always a labour of love’.
“A great chef once told me that the best food is made with the intention of invoking love and warmth. You can follow the best recipe and instruction videos on YouTube but if you don’t do it with love and passion, the flavours won’t hit home.”
She also shared four main tips that helped her in growing a successful food blog: ‘finding your niche, being authentic and yourself, investing in your writing skills and especially, your photography and editing skills to provide quality content and to get yourself out there on social media’.
In 2022, she hopes to be able to bring to life some projects that she has on her long to do list, but at the moment, she is focused on learning and growth.
Her main advice to anyone thinking of going into the industry as a young food blogger is to be authentic.
“Additionally, be yourself. Be patient. Be passionate. Be intentional. Go for quality over quantity. I know that this is pretty cliché advice. But you know what? Cliché advice is repeated so much because it actually works,” she says in conclusion.
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