A Taste of Africa

Mercy Akuru, who is originally from Nigeria, was one of the first African students to arrive at Northumbria in 2001 when she came to study a masters degree in Computing. Today there are more than 120 students from 12 African countries at the University.

However, after arriving in the city and finding a large choice of international restaurants, but none which served familiar African foods, the idea of opening her own restaurant began to form.

Ten years later, Mercy has now opened MyFriend Kitchen which serves traditional African cuisine in the west end of the city.

She explained: “When I first arrived in the North East it was so different to Africa.  The people, roads, buildings, basically everything was different. It was wonderful to see. It was a completely new world to me and my fellow African students. The weather was certainly strange, but we had been warned about this and were ready to adapt.

“The one thing we hadn’t prepared for and found hardest to get used to was the lack of familiar food. Our initial joy at being somewhere so exciting was tainted by our hunger. We loved the city, the people, and everything else was good, but the food was seriously a big challenge.”

Following graduation, Mercy and her husband, Vincent Akuru Nwali (A Northumbria MBA graduate), stayed in the North East and raised their three children here.

Although she took on a number of jobs in the region, including pioneering project work for the Black Ethnic Skills Training Initiative, the idea to open a restaurant remained and she eventually succeeded in opening MyFriend Kitchen in August 2011.

Mercy added: “Africa is naturally blessed with a huge range of tasty foods which are very healthy. Our menu is colourful and includes a range of traditional soups, fish and Halal meat dishes

“While we welcome everyone, in particular, we hope to cater for the many African people studying in the region. I was in their shoes 10 years ago, so I know some may be struggling to adjust their diet right now. We are also keen to appeal to the many African people who have settled here and to offer locals a taste of genuine African cuisine.”

MyFriend Kitchen is located at 377 Elswick Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE4 8DY. For more information visit us at www.friendskitchen.co.uk