♪♪
-We chose burgers because we're
not from a chef's background.
We just know what tastes good.
-Their burgers are just out
of this world.
The finest burger in Kenya.
-It's the most unique burgers
in Nairobi.
Very African burgers.
-We 100% make
the best burgers in Nairobi,
the best burgers in Africa,
the best burgers
in the world, I think.
-Agreed.
-Yes.
♪♪
I'm Natalie Mwedekeli.
-And I'm Samantha Mwedekeli.
-We're sisters.
-And we're co-owners
of Mama Rocks Burgers.
We make gourmet burgers,
and they're all influenced by
cuisines from all across Africa.
-We started Mama Rocks
4 years ago.
-We were actually one of the
first food trucks in the area.
-We serve our food at a place
called The Alchemist Bar.
-And it just has a really
great, cool, young vibe.
-What I normally go for
is a Mama...
-The Masai Mama.
-Yes, with mango
and gherkins and meat.
-Yeah.
Everyone loves that one.
-Yes, that's the one.
-So, I'm putting some peppers on
now for the Masai Mango Mama
burger that we're making.
Put the cheese on.
We pour a little bit
of water on it.
And then we put a cloche
over the top.
-So, we're putting our
Mango Mama mayo on both sides.
So, this has fresh mangoes,
chili powder,
and sugar in there.
The mango grows everywhere
in Kenya.
This is actually inspired
by the Maasai warriors, right?
The red peppers represent
the shuka.
Mixed salad, and then the beef
patty and cheese. Top.
I think people really identify
with the fact that it's Kenyan,
and when they see
Mango Masai Mama, they're like,
"That's the one I need to have."
-It's nice how they bring
the whole African culture
to it in terms of, like,
the kind of vegetables they use.
-It's my guilty pleasure.
These burgers will cure
a hangover
like nobody's business, so...
-I've been eating Mama Rocks
for years.
-I wondered, "Why is there
a queue to just get a burger?"
So I was like,
"Well, I'm gonna try it,"
and I've been hooked since.
-We grew up in
East Central London,
so a place called Old Street.
So, we're half Nigerian
and half Kenyan.
It's part of Nigerian culture
and Yoruba culture
to know how to cook.
When we were growing up,
when we were kids,
my parents couldn't
really afford childcare,
so my grandmother was the one
who really kind of raised us
and fed us,
like, hot pepper soup
and, you know,
all these foreign flavors,
and I think that's where our
palate was really kind of...
It developed back then.
It's quite funny 'cause
I remember being on her back
with a -- you know, a scarf,
and she's cooking,
and it's hot, and she's saying,
"Taste this. Taste this."
And if you didn't eat,
she'd be like,
"I'll beat you with this stick,"
so it was [Laughs]
-Wow.
-No, but it was all from --
It was all from a place of love.
That sounded really bad.
[ Laughs ]
-As we got older,
I feel like we were definitely
heavily influenced
by our grandmother's cooking,
just knowing what really
great flavor was all about.
-So, we've got one Sweet Mother
and one Djubalicious
and two sides of fries.
-Perfect. Thank you very much.
-Thank you so much. Enjoy.
-Do you have any sauces?
-Do you like spice?
-Yeah. Why not?
-Nairobi, it is a metropolis,
and it's growing,
and it has so much potential.
There's such a vitality and
a youth culture here in Nairobi
that no one
has really showcased.
And we wanted Mama Rocks
to be that platform
for creativity, for food.
What I really love about living
and working in Nairobi
is the vibrancy of it.
You can see changes happening
every day.
Just new things sprouting
up left, right, and center.
-I think the face of Africa
is definitely changing,
and we want to change
that stereotype
of what it means to be African.
We did a lot of research
when it came to the bread,
and we always believed
that the brioche bun
goes really well with a burger
because it's rich, it's sweet.
It's got a nice egg
wash on here.
It took us 6 months
to find a baker.
I was doing the 9:00-to-5:00,
and I was uninspired,
and I felt like
it was very monotonous.
-For me, I was in a job
for about 9 years.
I think I had enough
of what I was doing.
-Even before we moved,
we already knew the name
of the business.
We already knew it was
gonna be food.
We did a lot of research,
and we did a lot of menu
testing in the U.K.
But then we came to Nairobi,
and we scrapped 90%
of what we'd been working on
because it just didn't fit.
And we spent 6 months in Nairobi
just doing research,
and then we ended up with
the product that we have today.
-When we first sold that
first burger, I almost cried.
-We used to celebrate
when we sold 10 burgers.
Now we're selling, like, 1,000
or, you know, 1,500.
Slowly, but steady,
our team grew,
and I would say it's only been
in the last year
that we've actually been able
to step back
and start to strategize and say,
"Okay. What are we going
to do next?"
We started off
with three employees,
and then I would say, by Year 4,
we now have 70 permanent,
full-time members of staff.
So, you ordered the Nollywood
Suya Saga and the plantain.
And then, here, we have
the Mango Mama and your fries.
Any business has its ups
and its downs.
Starting a business
as young women in Nairobi
was really challenging,
and we had to be
really tenacious,
and we had
to be really confident.
-The first three years of
running this business,
we didn't earn a salary from it.
-We'll go, and we'll get
the truck repaired,
and we'll get ignored,
and we'll be like,
"Hi. Yes. We own this."
It's about keeping the mental
strength and stability
to keep on going.
It's almost like you have to
believe in yourself 200%
for someone
to believe you 100%.
-It helps that we're sisters
and that we're able to talk
through any challenges.
With this business,
it's really strange
because there are
some huge frustrations,
but it's never taken me
to the point where I've thought,
"I want to quit this today."
I think it's because I really,
actually -- I really love it.
I really love what we do.
-And I feel like
we've come too far...
-Yeah.
-...to kind of turn back.
-And we've got so far to go.
-Yeah.
-I feel like there's so much
more we can do with this brand.
-The times when you feel
like you want to quit,
what makes the difference is
when customers say,
"I love your burger. You have
the best burgers in Nairobi."
-And you see the delight
in their faces when
they've taken that first bite.
-Yeah.
-That gets you really excited,
and it keeps you going.
-Or even women that say to us,
"You've inspired me"...
-Yeah.
-..."'cause I didn't think
that it was women behind
this business,
even though
it's called Mama Rocks,
and you've inspired me
to do my own thing."
-It's actually really sad
when you hear people
say that they can't believe
it's black women that did this.
-Yeah, yeah.
-It gives us kind of steam
to keep going
because I want to be able to be
that kind of showpiece to say,
"Yeah, black women started this.
It can be done."
-It was really important for us
to honor
that female energy in our brand.
-We're called Mama Rocks
for a reason.
-I just want women to feel
capable and confident that, yes,
they can run their own business,
and, yes,
they can be successful.
Our goal, like she said, is to
spread this message worldwide,
so we'll never be done
'cause it is a big world.
♪♪
♪♪
