KITGUM - THE RESTAURANT

Aim

Kitgum Kitchen is expanding from street food to restaurant. We've done most the work, but need an additional £6,000 to open.

THE GIST 

Want to get a dose of Swahili coastal food without leaving Brighton and want to be rewarded for making it happen? Then please support our campaign to open Brightons first East African/Indian restaurant. 

I'm Fayaz, London-born, on a mission to celebrate my Indian / African heritage and the richness of the cuisine I know. In collaboration with my partner, Susie from Brighton, we started Kitgum Kitchen, bringing the taste of the Swahili coast to the Brighton coast. With our sell out dining experiences 'Eats with Beats' and regular street food gigs, we have been popping up across Brighton for the last 4 years. 

Following the success of pop-ups and thousands of satisfied guests we are now planning our first permanent site. We have have in-fact, finally, got keys to our very own restaurant, we've managed to save most of the money we need to make this happen, but we need a little help to cross the finish line. We are looking to you, our customers and community to help us on this next step of our food journey. Pick the reward you want, make a pledge and tell your friends.  

WHY AN EAST AFRICAN / INDIAN RESTAURANT 

Growing up my staple foods were chapatti, mishkaki, curries and cassava. After cooking for my partner (Susie), she questioned why she had never tried this type of 'Indian' cooking. Looking into my heritage it became clear that my cuisine was little represented in the UK. My parents, African Asians were born in Uganda and their parents, were Gujarati migrants to East Africa. 

In 1972, the president of Uganda, Idi Amin, announced that all Asians had 90 days to leave their homeland. Among the exiles were my parents, and although they only took a single suitcase they brought a wealth of recipes from their unique heritage, a fusion of East African and Gujarati cuisine, typical of the Swahili coast. It's not just eating the food, but learning how to eat it and about the journey which brought it together.

THE RESPONSE SO FAR 

This time 4 years ago we were arranging for Lakuta to perform at our very first pop up at The Dover Castle Brighton. It was a baptism of fire; packed with over 100 people, Susie and I ran the kitchen and front of house. The feedback on our East African/Indian kitchen idea was great (although it might have been a little slow) and anyone that was there will know it was a great party! We have been honing our skills ever since, popping up all over Sussex; The Hare and Hounds, Signalman, Mesmerist, Sir Charles Napier, Street Diner, UnBarred Brewery, Brooksteed Alehouse, The Foghorn, Florence Road Farmers Market, The Warren and lots more. As well as all this, we've found the time to grow our family (future samosa maker).

THE NEXT STEP

We want to open our restaurant and give you the full KITGUM experience; food,  music, drinks in a buzzing social space.

WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP

We have finally found a place we want to call home and we are planning to open our doors in the new year.  However opening a restaurant is no small undertaking. To turn this site into the welcoming home of Kitgum, it involves spending on renovations, furnishings, equipment, legal fees – all of which are known to mount up. Moreover, as a new restaurant our first year will be critical and we need to ensure we can survive it. Kitgum Kitchen is totally self funded to date and all the money we've made has been invested back into the business. We have managed to save a large chunk, but need your help to get to our goal. We have taken a short-term high interest which we need to pay back asap. 

This is where you come in... I know it's the Christmas season, so we don't expect for you to give anything away for free (unless you really want to!), so in return for any donations made, we will be rewarding you.

This project successfully funded on 25th January 2020