Local Talent Takes the Cake: Air France Celebrates 5th Anniversary in Kenya with Bake-off Competition

Chef Zeinab Azizurehman has emerged as the winner of the Air France and Art Caffe Bake-off 2023 competition.

Aimed at supporting local talent and, fusing and showcasing French and Kenyan cultures, the competition also marked Air France’s 5th anniversary in Kenya since resuming the Paris-Nairobi route in 2018.

Speaking during the competition, Air France KLM Country Sales Manager for Kenya and offline markets Hildabeta Amiani affirmed Kenya’s existing talents to create international meals.

“This partnership is a chance to bring the same experience to the local community by ensuring their talents and expertise is felt hence the thought to fuse Kenyan and French cuisine. Over the years, our customers have enjoyed French cuisine in all our journeys. However, we are selling the globe to customers not just Europe and this starts by creating exposure for local talents internationally. As a business, we look forward to more partnerships with local businesses so that we can bring our brand close to the communities we serve.” Said Amiani.

The competition dubbed the croissant fuse-off attracted 25 participants and saw three of them Chantelle Githinji, Nekesa Masibo, and Zeinab Azizurehman make it to the finals. Zeinab Azizurehman emerged as the winner, having baked a croissant with Baobab Cream filling. The participants were required to make a croissant fusing French and Kenyan cuisine.

“Baobab is a fruit that is found along the coastal and eastern regions of Kenya as a superfood. There are many benefits of this delicious food that can be made into juice, popsicles, candy, or even as a calcium supplement. Inspired by its versatility, I aimed to highlight its use of it as a unique element that can be used in the fusion pastries and pastry fillings,” said Zeinab as she expressed her gratitude for winning the Bake-off Prize – a return Premier economy ticket to Paris.

The Premium Economy is the latest addition of the French carrier cabins and is targeted at customers who want to enjoy the luxury of flying comfortably but at an affordable price. The cabin is sandwiched between the economy and the business class and comes defined with its pricing structure, onboarding experience, own cabin area, and more comfortable seats meant for a few passengers. Besides, it is available on all Air-France international or long-haul flights from Europe to Nairobi.

”Through this partnership, we aim to bring together the best of French and Kenyan cuisine to create an unforgettable culinary experience sustainably. The partnership also includes exciting projects that fuse cultures and sustainability, bringing in special projects that involve locals. The focus on sustainability is geared toward getting rid of plastics and embracing recyclable materials, fresh local seasonal products, reducing wastage, and ensuring food hygiene,” said Art Caffe Marketing Executive Mitchell Johnsson, giving her remarks during the Bake-off.

Currently, Art Caffe has 5 markets across the country and looks forward to opening more soon, while Air France has Increased the frequency of Non-Stop Flights Between Paris and Nairobi to seven.