tiny_aka_michael_njuguna_exclusive_interview_2021

Michael Nganga Njuguna aka 'Tiny' is a young 26 years old gentleman who loves life,people ,fashion,music,art and most of all cooking.This young man used to work for Java House as a Barrister/Cocktelier plus also worked in the catering department of Safaricom before opening his own establishment named "Pauline's Kitchn". Tiny is self taught since he worked for java house for six months then got inspired to go to the service industry and learnt the basics for the barrister coffee part.Then when he went to work for saaricom ,he polished up on his barrister skills there as cooking came as a by the way after covid came..How he acquired the name Tiny was actually a childhood nickname ,on his mum's side he is called Michael Nganga,they are more than ten michael ngangas,so there's kimani njuguna,im njuguna and number five in the family.So different these people,we had to get different nicknames.So for him because he was small ,his cousins grew up faster than him and he was left a tiny guy.Hence the name 'Tiny'.

STORY BY WANJIKU THUKU

'TINY' AKA MICHAEL NGANGA NJUGUNA -MASTERCHEF WITH A MAGICAL TOUCH

The former name of the shop was 'Tiny's Bite Me' before he rebranded to 'Pauline's Kitchn'.He has a very supportive family who sometimes come to buy stuff by promoting him as well as most of his friends (who have become his biggest clients).His new clients have become his friends as well and passby frequently.Five to ten years from now,he hopes to have a huge franchise in Kisumu,Eldoret,Kitale,Nakuru,Mombasa.As much as he would like to stick to making snacks,,no swahili dishes will be on the menu,dont make foods that are too cliche -come back to our culture to understand the basics-he wont do

This establishment was opened about a month and a half ago and is the talk of the town or rather GBS/USIU Area.Michael says he opened this establishment as a dedication and tribute to his late mother 'Pauline' whom this eatery is named after.It also helps him support his two lovely young daughters and himself .He said one of the main challenges he faces with the business is financial constraints because the demands for his catering services have gone higher so he has to factor in things like gas ,supplies for vegetables,fruits ,snacks,drinks and other necesseties.

Three things that stand out about tiny are love for the arts-cooking,spoken word and singing ,secondly being spiirtual and also being a silent and quiet person -when not working at the shop he spares time for himself -he sleeps or finds to do,daytime he cooks for and entertains people.The most loved dish/drink at Paauline's Kitchn is sandwiches and fries,plus I inlcude God's favour as the best secret ingredient.I have no social media pages ,business just grows by word of mouth.The three basic needs are food ,clothing and

His motto in life is you're the captain of your own soul and the king of your own life.I even have a tattoo of a tower and and ship's wheel,guitar with a G-clef due to my love for music and singing.So i sing and entertain my guests as he cooks.In the near future he hopes to have built a huge restaurant with a stage and be holdin live band performances within the next ten year plan.His love for art is to put paintings all over the place like in Java House.

things for the sake of doing or impressing people but to grow the business.The challenges he has faced are balancing finances since opening the eatery which becomes himself versus the business ,his needs ,personal stuff like family mixed with the business.If he sacrifices one shilling tomorrow it will be three shillings the next day and so he has to sacrifice every dime-high demand equals more sacrifice/finances.

The advice he would give to people is tunnel vision focus,that means if someone is in a dark place focus to go to the last dot (light)-Have it no matter how hard it gets ,take a day at a time.My last words to the readers are bloom where you are planted,last punchline he would like to live and doesnt matter if you are on the hard rocks ,if you are in the sand ata kwa maji.You have to have the chance to grow.That's it no matter where you are just

Another career path he would have taken if it werent for hospitality is music because he just loves music ,he writes songs and when it comes to music he does it effoertlessly.What made him do hospitality is that he challenged himself to learn new things but when it comes to music i dont force anything ..music is just like a tap.His dream is to live a fulfilled life,life by satisfactory of what he's doing not to wish he did something differently.His goal is to beome more than gordon ramsey (the kenyan version).His aspiration is to give my daughters the best life through art,music,fashion and food.

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shelter but he's mostly passionate about food and hospitality because food keeps people coming back everytime as clothing and shelter wont last for long.

bloom and the circumstances will adapt to your grit,that's it.