By THILO THIELKE
KILIMANJARO, Tanzania — It is one of those mornings that one only finds in Kilimanjaro. The snow-covered peaks of the mountain rise majestically over the tropical rainforest. The crystal-clear waters of the Weruweru river rush down the valley. And over the Kaliwa Lodge, an eagle circles alone.
Bernadette Padua-Kirsch begins her day as usual with yoga on the terrace. She loves the African feel, the same attraction that pulled Ernest Hemingway to write about the glimmer of the green hills with their lush vegetation and eternal spring at 1,300 meters altitude.
Padua-Kirsch is a Filipina. The Kaliwa Lodge (kaliwa means “to sit on top of something” in Swahili) at the foot of the Kilimanjaro mountain—the highest free-standing mountain in the world—is what she calls home now.
Padua-Kirsch is the manager of the lodge, one of the most modern of East African Lodges. She will soon be a partner in the first Philippine-Thailand restaurant in Moshi in the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro. To be named Ginger and Lime, the restaurant will specialize in Southeast Asian cooking.
She is currently training a crew of young eager Tanzanians on the fine art of cooking the Filipino dish adobo, pork or chicken cooked in a stock composed of paprika, oregano, garlic, salt, soya sauce and vinegar. Tirelessly, the young locals mix the braised meat in soya sauce, vinegar and garlic. She had even taught them to say “Magandang hapon (Good afternoon)” to greet the guests.
“I feel sometimes in a dream,” Padua-Kirsch says as she looks over her kitchen team at work.
A few months earlier, being in Kilimanjaro was only a dream.
She had been living in Germany heading her own catering and cooking school, Padua Catering and More. Then came an offer to start and operate the kitchen of a safari lodge. She was fascinated by the idea of building something in a faraway, unfamiliar place. She had read about wild, romantic Africa. She packed her bags for a brief three-month stay.
Then she discovered Kilimanjaro and Kaliwa Lodge with its modern Bauhaus architecture—the airy bright rooms, the clear lines—and the amazing wooden terrace rising over the river valley. When she found out that the new owners were looking for a lodge manager, she couldn’t believe her luck. “It was as if faith brought me here. Serendipity,” Padua-Kirsch says.
She fell in love with the land and its people quickly. “After more than 10 years in Germany, the friendliness of the people here reminds me of my own country, the Philippines. People are very generous with their smiles, even in very difficult circumstances. They always find a way around problems and make the best of the situation. The Tanzanian mirrors the positive attitude of Filipinos,” she says.
Padua-Kirsch plans to take a respite from her world traveling and stay in Africa.
She has always been a footloose. After her studies at the University of the Philippines in Los Baños, she went to Venezuela, then to Colombia where she stayed for many years. She went to Germany, where she decided to take Culinary Arts in Cologne.
“Those years abroad and my many travels greatly influenced my kitchen. The basis of my kitchen remains Asian but with a touch of Latin America and European influences,” she says.
Kilimanjaro is a favorite destination of tourists from all over the world. The legendary mountain is attracting more and more Asian climbers. The quiet idyllic town of Moshi with its many tangled streets is booming. Guests coming from the fascinating safaris of Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater linger at the foot of the Kilimanjaro.
There is where they will find Ginger and Lime, Padua-Kirsch’s Philippine-Thai restaurant.
“I would love to offer our Kaliwa Lodge guests the hospitality of my native land, and the Ginger and Lime restaurant serves the fine tradition of Filipino cooking,” she says.
Through her cooking, Padua-Kirsch is bringing the Philippines to Africa.
(Thilo Thielke is the correspondent of Der Spiegel, a German publication, in Tanzania.)