Lifestyle

Hospitality consultant with an Italian touch

Thursday, April 2nd, 2020 00:00 | By
Sections of the newly opened Mawimbi Restaurant on Kijabe Street, Nairobi. Photo/PD/Alex Mburu

With years of experience in the  business of setting up restaurants and related outfits, DANIELA CELLINI opens up about its ins and outs, and what it takes to be successful.

Evelyn Makena @evemake_g

The view from the poolside of Mawimbi Seafood restaurant is stunning. The greenery lining the poolside garden and the wavy tented shades are a welcome escape from the city’s fast-paced life.

Daniela Cellini marvels at the outcome of the newly opened restaurant nestled along Kijabe Street.

For about a year now, she has been involved in putting the various pieces together to actualise the concept of a restaurant that would offer a coastal feel, just like the name suggests.

“The restaurant is like an oasis. People come and have difficulty leaving. It is meant to give them an escape from the busy city.

We want people to relax and have a feel similar to being on holiday,” says Cellini, a hospitality and restaurant consultant.

She was hired to handle project management, procurement and marketing a month after the ground breaking of the restaurant in April last year.

For the next one year, her work would entail coordinating activities between different experts including interior designers, architects, landscapers and contractors.

“My work entailed thinking of all the little items that would give the bigger picture,” she says.

To make that happen, she procured every little thing needed at the restaurant from the cutlery, furniture all the way to the flower pots.

Daniela Cellini.  Photo/PD/Alex Mburu

Cellini was also involved in designing the kitchen and the bar of the seafood restaurant.

Unique quality

Mawimbi Seafood restaurant is one among the many hospitality projects Cellini has been involved in.

Others include Off the Rocks champagne and oyster bar at Village Market, Chez Sonia wine bar along Peponi Road, Nairobi and Shogun Sushi bar and La Griglia Seafood restaurant in Malindi.

She reckons that her role as a hospitality consultant is one that requires a combination of skills including events planning, hospitality and experience in running food and beverages establishments. 

With over 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Cellini has graced every project with a unique quality many refer to as the ‘Italian touch’—  the typical bespoke hospitality and effortless glamour synonymous with Italians.

Cellini grew up in both Rome, Italy and in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Born to an Italian father and an American mother, she studied in Europe and the US, where she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in business and a Master’s degree in hotel and hospitality management.

She joined her family in Malindi in 1992. Her family, which has a background in running casino businesses across the world, had moved into the country in 1991 and set up  Casino Malindi.  

Value for money

In Kenya, she helped build the food and beverage department for the casino.

Over the next years, she helped open several restaurants as she assisted in running the family business first as a food and beverage manager and then as marketing and events director.

Mawimbi Restaurant on Kijabe Street, Nairobi.  Photo/PD/Alex Mburu

In 2001, she left the country and worked in the iconic Raleigh Hotel in Miami Beach, US as a catering manager for about one year. 

Using the experience amassed in these roles, Cellini ventured into hospitality consultancy.

To succeed in the role, she says that one must be very good at multitasking.

“Remember you are handling different roles that would ideally be handled by several people,” she explains. 

Her role in setting up Mawimbi Seafood restaurant was demanding. It involved procurement, marketing, setting up the operations, hiring staff, training them and even running the social media pages. 

“It involved long working hours, a lot of coordination and travelling. It was the first time I was handling all these aspects together,” she says.

The role, which requires a lot of discipline as it entails spending other people’s money, saw her travel to Spain, South Africa, Thailand, China and Holland to procure various materials.

“To succeed in this, you need to budget and ensure you give your client value for money. It is a huge responsibility,” she says.

When it comes to charges, Cellini uses different criteria depending on the specific aspects of the project.

For some, a flat rate applies while for others, the charges are a percentage of the entire project’s budget. 

Her line of work also comes with its own challenges. To get her work done, Cellini needs to work with many suppliers and contractors.

Years of being in the industry have helped her build a network of service providers who she can count on. Nonetheless, at times these trusted networks can let her down.

“When you depend on a third party it’s really challenging because if they don’t deliver, it’s entirely on you,” she says.

When this happens, it has to be solved with a lot of follow-up and if negotiation cannot fix things, she is forced to go with an alternative. 

Even after the successful completion and opening of Mawimbi restaurant early this year, Cellini has been helping with the smooth transition of the operations.

She is in the exit phase, which involves handling over duties to key figures hired to take up the roles .

Cellini says the hospitality industry in Kenya is growing fast and clients are looking for trendy establishments.

Clients are looking to spend in quality service. To respond to the needs of the Nairobi clientele that is world-class, upcoming restaurants have to research extensively, travel widely to see the current trends and invest in excellent service.

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