Toi Market

Rose Mathieu.

Please meet Rose Mathieu the first woman on my Working Girl series. I met Rose on the facebook group Cook Eat. So I reached out and she is amazing! We have been talking on and off the phone for so long, I don't know when friendship kicked in and interview stopped.

Her food is exquisite. This up here is Ugali Mayai by the way, I know does not look like your usual mathogothanio but yeah our own dishes can be just that. Exquisite!

Rose has worked very hard to get where she is right now, which is working at one of the best restaurants in Paris. She has worked for and with Chef Hélène Darroze in Paris - Hélène was selected World's Best Female chef 2015. That is like the biggest deal of all big deals.

But getting there was not easy. She is a graduate of Ferrandi , L'Ecole Française de Gastronomie Paris. This is an institute that admits just about 32 students a year, she was one of those 32, from 6000 applicants, the only black person and woman to graduate in her year. For somebody who grew up in Mumias (Western Kenya) to get here is truly a test to the spirit, to giving everything you have got and getting what you want.

And the woman is stylish too!! So you also get why we got on together like fireworks! Rose is going places with her cooking, she is smart, very smart, a true artist in her trade, she has plans, big plans for the future, she is getting noticed and we will be hearing and seeing more of her here at home and around the globe.

Favourite Recipe - Oven Roasted Chicken

You can tell the Mumias influence is strong on this one. Rose can get up and still get down to soul food. In her own Words.

"My favourite recipe is whole chicken roasted in the oven 180 degrees for 45 mins , 15 mins on each side and the last 10 mins on the breast . With no stuffing and just sprinkled with salt and pepper , then I add some hot oil ,thyme and whole garlic on the baking tray to oil birth the chicken every 15 mins during the baking which helps to keep the chicken crispy on the outside and moist in the inside.

When the chicken is halfway cooked I add in cleaned skin on baby potatoes pre boiled to cook in the chicken juices . This is my favourite meal , simple but very delicious Do not cut the chicken after directly removing from the oven , Give it some resting time at least 20 mins in a warm place ( this will allow the chicken juices to redistribute evenly in the whole chicken making it taste even better Another tip for extra crunchy chicken skin , sprinkle it with salt immediately when you remove it from the oven Goes well with leafy salad."

Did I mention she is my tribe mate? Yeah I always have to pull that card, if I can do it with Lupita, I can do it with Rose.

Be INSPIRED!