The Roaming Chef opens up on challenges he faces in content creation

Ombachi said British chef, Gordon Ramsey mentored him.

• Ombachi announced TikTok Top creator 2022 Sub-Saharan Africa winner.

• He dedicated the award to his family, saying his wife encouraged him to start creating TikTok content.

The former rugby star has become a popular content creator on TikTok
Dennis Ombachi aka The Roaming Chef. The former rugby star has become a popular content creator on TikTok
Image: Instagram

Former Kenya Sevens player turned chef Dennis Ombachi was on Saturday announced TikTok Top creator 2022 Sub-Saharan Africa winner.

African TikTok creators are amongst the first to be crowned Top Creator and Top Creator Runner-Up for TikTok’s inaugural #TopCreator2022, an award ceremony that recognises and awards content creators across sub-Saharan Africa for the immense talent and creativity they brought to the platform in the past year.

Speaking to Word Is, Ombachi said British chef, Gordon Ramsey mentored him.

"Coming from sports, I have won a couple of medals, but there is a different feeling that this one has," he said. 

He dedicated the award to his family, saying his wife encouraged him to start creating TikTok content.

"My cooking journey started way back when I used to play rugby for Kenya and travelling all the time in different countries and seeing different cuisines and different recipes," he said.

"I started following new YouTube videos from British chef Gordon Ramsey. He unknowingly mentored me to cooking."

Ombachi dubbed the Roaming Chef, has created a name for himself on social media following the recipes he willingly shares with his fans.

The father of two said he does not have the most acceptable meal but his fans love butter chicken and garlic.

He also shared his excitement after Kelly Rowland, an American singer, followed his recipes. 

"I feel shy about that since I do not know what to say when such big celebrities commend your job, but I am me."

He says he cooks for his family every day.

"My wife has her own way of cooking and which is also very special. When I am not doing it, she does it for the family," he said.

Ombachi started making delicious dishes and sharing recipes online in 2021 and was nominated as Africa’s best content creator on Tik Tok in 2022.

He says the biggest challenge is consistency. 

"I hope I will give you more content this year since I struggle with consistency," he said. 

"It is hard and many times, I don't feel like doing it. If I can manage to record every food I cook, I would have content every day, but I record only four times a month."

Boniswa Sidwaba, TikTok's content programming lead, in Sub-Saharan Africa, said the award ceremony is TikTok’s way of recognising storytellers, creativity, and the positive impact all creators bring to the TikTok community.

"We are thrilled to be celebrating our creators, who have been a driving force behind some of the exciting trends for 2022," he said. 

"With these inaugural awards, TikTok aims to give creators in sub-Saharan Africa the recognition they deserve and to encourage them to tell the African story while spreading joy at all times."

The awards ceremony was hosted at the Mövenpick Hotel and Residences Nairobi.

@beautyby.nita and @natasha_gwal from Kenya were also awarded.

Read Also:

Check out the latest news here and you are welcome to join our super exclusive Mpasho Telegram group for all the latest and breaking news in entertainment. We would also like to hear from you, WhatsApp us on +254 736 944935.