Global Connections and Kenyan Cuisine

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Global Connections and Kenyan Cuisine

Day 7 - May 19, 2026

This morning around 5:30AM the team waited with sleepy eyes to get the ‘go ahead’ message from Professor Wimer. This would mean that our partner stops were still on today's agenda (due to uncertainty about the demonstrations). Once we received the ‘all clear’ message, the team put on their nicest (and cleanest) clothes to head to the Nairobi office of EY (Ernst & Young). EY Kenya is one of the only international firms we met with on this trip. This provided our team with a new perspective of global Kenyan business interactions. Due to the ongoing, but reduced, protests, most of the EY office was empty, with many employees working from home. Nonetheless, we were greeted by three partners, two senior staff members, as well as four other employees who joined via zoom.

We all enjoyed hearing about the work culture and customs that EY Kenya has and how it compares to the EY New York City office that our legacy partners, Tage Oster and Gianna Davis, have worked in. While the Kenyan hospitality and care for others was apparent, our main host, Sia, informed us that the firm holds every employee to certain standards of care for one another. It was interesting learning about the various specialities each person worked in and how they were able to transfer their skills across different countries. Many of the employees worked in International Tax and were discussing how they must learn the specific rules and regulations that differing countries have. In addition to knowing tax rules and regulations about other countries, majority of the staff members we met had worked at multiple EY offices in other countries as well. Sia studied Finance and Economics at a university in Chicago, Illinois, worked in the EY Tanzania office, and now at EY Nairobi. While most of the visit was spent learning about our hosts’ careers, we were able to play a game of trivia and pictionary with them as well. At the end of the day, we all learned something new about Kenya, whether it be from lighthearted games or more structured Q&A.

Ethiopian Inspired Tofu

Ethiopian Inspired Tofu

After EY, the team headed back to Homecare for a brief rest and refresh before heading to one of our last partner visits of the trip. Around 4PM we left for an early dinner at Embark. Embark is founded and co-owned by Dennis, who is also the head development chef. Dennis and the head of the service team, Pious, served us an incredible seven course meal that represented the previous eight regions of Kenya. From an Ethiopian-inspired crudite to a buttery fish with smoky paprika to a Nairobi-inspired rosemary cheesecake with a ginger crust; it was by far some of the best food any of us had ever tasted. Understanding the connection between food and business provided a new perspective regarding how business reaches every aspect of culture.

Today was an incredible last full day that demonstrated the spectrum of business-types we have had the privilege of visiting. Both small, local, and international firms play a huge role in the Kenyan and global economies, and our team learned so much by interacting with them.

By Silke Pion

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