Bilal Auma Washikumba, a Kenyan chef, has made his way from the coastal kitchens of Mombasa to the fine-dining rooms of Nairobi and now to Kigali, where he is shaping menus, mentoring young cooks and proving that the life of a chef sometimes calls for a delicate balancing act.
At The Hemingways Retreat Kigali, where he is the executive chef, Bilal says his role is about more than putting plates before guests. It is about consistency, profit, guest satisfaction and, increasingly, training the next crop of chefs in a market he says is still growing.
He has worked in some of Kenya’s leading hotels, gaining skills in seafood, fine dining, kitchen management and hotel operations.
He was in kitchens at Leisure Lodge Hotel in Mombasa, Jacaranda Indian Ocean Beach Club, the Norfolk Hotel’s Pango fine dining restaurant, Fairview Hotel, Sopa Lodges in the Maasai Mara and Naivasha, and Temple Point Resort in Watamu before relocating to Kigali, Rwanda, in May 2022.
“I worked with the most experienced chefs, Italian chefs, so that’s where I got my experience. I loved doing lobster, tamido and prawns piri piri.”
In 2009, he stepped away for two and a half years to study at Kenya Utalii College, a move he says gave him the management grounding that hands-on hotel training had not fully provided.
“I really wanted to have insights into the kitchen because when you do normal in-house training, there are things that you miss out on in terms of kitchen management,” he says.
Then called the Retreat, before Hemingways acquired it officially in mid-2025, Bilal found not just a kitchen to lead, but a team to build.
A dish of crispy pork belly served in beetroot relish, sauteed bok choy, carrots and roasted sesame seeds at the Hemingways Retreat, Kigali. Chef Bilal Auma Washikumba took part in creating the dish that is one of the main servings at the retreat.
Photo credit: Elvis Ondieki | Nation Media Group
“When I joined, we started creating menus with the junior chefs, the local Rwandese chefs,” he says. “I built up a team. Many have left, and they are chefs now in other hotels.”
For him, that movement is not a loss but proof that the training is working.
“Rwanda is a small market and the culinary world is still [fledgling]. You cannot compare it to Kenya,” he says. “But I like it when people come, train, leave, and they go succeed.”
The Kenyan chef is now grooming another group.
“Currently, we have a new team we’ve been training. I’ve had to ensure I work closely with them because most of them have not gone to culinary school.”
He plans to take some of the kitchen staff to Kenya for a hands-on experience “to have that experience and broaden their knowledge in culinary skills.”
On the menu, he has been blending local Rwandan produce with international ideas.
“We have the ribeye on bone that is served with the local plantain (mizuzu),” he says.
Another fixture is tilapia from Lake Kivu. “Tilapia never used to be [on the menu],” he says. “So, currently I’m doing tilapia that goes with the local spinach.”
For Bilal, the rules of the kitchen are clear. “One, you have to be strict with your recipe. Then you must have passion for cooking. You have to control your costs so that the company can also realise profits,” he says.
He is a Muslim, but he does not let these beliefs get in the way of his job. He tastes everything when needed to, and that may include beef, whether halal or not, and pork.
“Yes, I taste pork,” he says. “It’s part of my job…Let’s say it’s Ramadhan, then you come in the kitchen, and you are telling people you cannot taste food because you are fasting. When a guest complains, you can’t tell [unless you taste]. So, some boundaries I just leave it out then I say I’m coming to do my job. And I do it right.”
Do chefs cook at home too?
“My kids love to see me cooking, so they challenge me,” says the 42-year-old. “I do a lot of cooking when I take my off and my leave.”
He is also clear that the title chef must be earned.
“If you want to be a good chef, you must start from the cleaning part, the stewarding part, then you grow from there,” he says.
“Cooking comes from the heart,” he says. “You must enjoy your job.”
