STREET, SMOKE & SPICE

A Culinary Journey Into Kenya

With Chef Viet Pham


Nairobi • Lamu • Maasai Mara  |  October 29 – November 9, 2026  |  11 Nights  |  Limited to Six Guests

why kenya

One of the Most Dynamic Culinary Environments in the World

Kenya is known for safari. Its food story is far less familiar — a living culinary, cultural and ecological system far more varied than most travelers expect.

Deep Indigenous Food Knowledge

Centuries of cultivation, fermentation, preservation and land-based food knowledge still shape what is grown, cooked and eaten here — traditions with deep roots that remain largely absent from the global culinary conversation.

A New Generation of Kenyan Chefs

A new generation of internationally trained Kenyan chefs and culinary entrepreneurs is bringing global experience home — drawing on local ingredients, traditions and influences to explore what Kenyan cuisine can become.

A Food Culture Evolving in Real Time

This is a food culture in motion — rooted in longstanding traditions while new ideas, techniques and voices are emerging alongside them. For the culinary curious, that makes Kenya particularly exciting right now: you're not arriving after the story has been defined. You're experiencing it while it is still unfolding.

One of the world's most interesting emerging culinary stories — still largely absent from the global conversation. For now.

**Note: Yes, that is a real crab locally sourced in Lamu. It was HUGE!

Chef Viet Pham

Three-time James Beard Award nominee.
Food & Wine Best New Chef.
Iron Chef America winner.
Founder of Pretty Bird.
The only chef to beat Bobby Flay twice.

Your Host

A Chef's Eye. A Fellow Traveler.

WORLD-CLASS SKILL. GENUINE CURIOSITY. ZERO CULINARY SNOBBERY.

Viet is not coming to Kenya to play the expert. He is coming to taste, cook, question, compare and learn alongside the group — bringing the instincts of a serious chef without turning the journey into a masterclass.

Born in a Malaysian refugee camp to Vietnamese parents and raised in the United States, Viet’s own relationship with food has been shaped by migration, memory and cultural exchange — themes that run throughout this journey.

He brings a chef’s eye to every experience: noticing technique, asking sharper questions, spotting connections and helping guests see more in what they are tasting and learning.

And just as importantly, he knows when to step back and let Kenyan knowledge lead.

At a glance

11 nights. Three worlds of flavor.

Few countries offer this kind of range in a single journey. Across Nairobi, Lamu and the Maasai Mara, you move through three completely different ecosystems — and three equally different culinary worlds.

4 Nights — Nairobi

Markets, charcoal, street food and modern kitchens come together in a city constantly in motion. Nairobi is where everyday ingredients, migration, memory and contemporary creativity meet — revealing a food culture that is layered, surprising and alive.

4 Nights — Maasai Mara

Land, livestock, fire and shared meals shape a food story rooted in place. In the Mara, the table is inseparable from the living systems around it — grazing, conservation, hospitality, biodiversity and the practical beauty of cooking close to the source.

3 Nights — Lamu

Spice, sea and Swahili foodways define a coastal world shaped by the Indian Ocean. In Lamu, fishing boats, mangroves, home kitchens and centuries of exchange create a culinary rhythm that feels intimate, storied and deeply connected to the water.

the itinerary

Street, Smoke & Spice

October 29 – November 9, 2026 · 11 Nights

Depart U.S. — October 28

Overnight international flights from the U.S. begin your journey to Nairobi.

Arrive Nairobi — October 29

The Odyssey Collective founder and host will be waiting on arrival to welcome you, help make the airport arrival seamless, and accompany you with a private driver to Pullman Nairobi Upper Hill. Late-night snacks and beverages will be waiting when you arrive.

Nairobi — October 29–31

Begin in one of Africa’s most dynamic cities, moving from the soil to the street to the contemporary kitchen. Walk a purple tea farm in the Limuru highlands, experience nyama choma at Kamakis, source ingredients in a working produce market, and cook alongside Kenyan chefs and Viet. Dinner at Beit é Selam introduces another expression of modern Nairobi.

Lamu — November 1–3

Fly to the coast and continue by boat to The Majlis on Manda Island. Sail through mangrove channels by dhow, explore Swahili spice, meet the women protecting Lamu’s octopus fishery, enter home kitchens and neighborhood tables, and head onto the Indian Ocean before sunrise for deep-sea fishing. The morning’s catch returns over fire at a beach grill.

Nairobi, Again — November 4

Return to the city with a changed palate. Stop for roadside bhajias, cook kienyeji foods and indigenous ingredients with Miriam, then see another side of Nairobi’s contemporary culinary scene at Cultiva.

Maasai Mara — November 5–8

Fly into the Mara for four days where food, wildlife and landscape become inseparable. Stay first at Mattikoko on a private conservancy, exploring regenerative grazing, livestock, game drives and a traditional goat boucherie. Then continue to Zebra Plains for bees, honey and local enterprise, the Culinary Lab, and the final Bush Table — where the chefs guide and the group cooks over fire in the Mara.

Depart — November 9

One final morning in the Mara, then fly to Nairobi for a light farewell lunch and private transfers for international departures.

Not a food tour

A Way Into the Place.

The Odyssey Collective builds experiences from the inside out — through people who know a place deeply. That changes what you are able to see, who you are able to meet and how close you are able to get.

Access That Changes the Experience

Our six-person format allows us to enter kitchens, boats, farms, homes and neighborhood tables that do not translate well to conventional tourism. You are not an audience watching from the edge.

Room for Conversation

You taste. You listen. You ask questions. You participate. And the place begins to look different — not because it has changed, but because the people who know it have let you closer.

Through Food.

Through People.

Into Kenya.

accomodations

Where You Will Stay

These are not four versions of the same stay. Each was chosen for what it reveals about the place — from global Nairobi to island life, private conservancy intimacy, and a more luxurious expression of the Mara.

Pullman Upper Hill Nairobi

A polished, contemporary hub reflecting Nairobi's international, design-conscious energy. Its vibrant food scene and urban rhythm create a dynamic first impression for the journey.

The Majlis Resort Lamu

This privately owned coastal resort blends relaxed luxury with Lamu's unique texture. Open-air living, Indian Ocean views, exquisite food, and an intimate connection to the water define the experience.

Mattikoko Camp Maasai Mara

Deliberately modest and deeply embedded in nature, this unfenced camp on a private conservancy offers genuine intimacy. Wildlife is ever-present, and the remarkable hosting makes guests feel truly part of the landscape.

Zebra Plains Collection Maasai Mara

A luxurious safari experience situated on the edge of the reserve. Surrounded by wildlife and Maasai communities, it offers warm hospitality, thoughtful design, and a profound connection to the land and its people.

What's Included & What's Not

Included

From handpicked stays to insider dining and seamless travel, every detail is designed so you can simply relax and immerse yourself in the journey.

Culinary experiences + meals — Everything food-related is included throughout the journey: hosted meals, market visits, tastings, cooking experiences, workshops, chef-led sessions and special dining experiences.

Accommodations — The Pullman Upper Hill (Nairobi), The Majlis Resort (Lamu), Mattikoko Camp (Mara) and Zebra Plains Collection (Mara)

Seamless travel — private ground transportation, two round-trip regional flights, Lamu water taxis

Alcoholic beverages — House wines, beer and cocktails are included during the Maasai Mara stays. At all other hotels and dining experiences, alcoholic beverages are purchased separately.

Safari — All conservancy fees, professional guides and game drives are included throughout the Maasai Mara stays.

Cultural and coastal experiences — A sunset dhow cruise in Lamu and a privately chartered deep-sea fishing excursion on the Indian Ocean.

Not Included

International flights and Kenya e-visa

Gratuities for guides, drivers, and staff

Optional activities, extra meals, and personal spending

October 29 – November 9, 2026
11 Nights  |  Nairobi • Lamu • Maasai Mara
Limited to Six Guests

$12,000

Per person, based on double occupancy. Single supplement is $1,250.




Interested in joining us? elaine@theodysseycollective.co

Built from relationships. Shaped through a culinary lens.

Elaine Berndes

Founder, The Odyssey Collective

A global executive, entrepreneur and educator, Elaine has spent more than two decades working across five continents at the intersection of strategy, people and place. She launched The Odyssey Collective around a belief that has shaped much of her work: The world does not always recognize the places where wisdom lives. But that does not make the wisdom less true.

Over nearly a decade in East Africa, Elaine has built deep relationships with chefs, hosts, entrepreneurs, conservationists and local leaders who know the region from within. The Odyssey Collective grew from those relationships — and from the access, trust and destination knowledge they make possible.

Kori Frederick

Head of The Culinary Collective

Kori has spent years working closely with chefs and within the Food Network world, building deep relationships across the culinary community and developing a sharp instinct for what makes a food experience genuinely compelling. Her experience, network and credibility bring a serious culinary perspective to Odyssey.

As Head of the Culinary Collective, Kori helps make sure the experience is as strong from the culinary side as it is from the travel side — refining the journey, identifying the right chef hosts and collaborators, and connecting Odyssey to the broader food world through the relationships and credibility she brings.