Gillianne Obaso was born in Kisumu and grew up in Nairobi with three siblings, raised by loving parents who were staunch patriots of the newly born Republic of Kenya. Their dedication and discipline, laced with liberalism encouraging self expression, made an early impression influencing her work ethos and approach to life.
She has always sought to inject personal creativity in her endeavor’s and she celebrates dynamic PanAfricanism in all its forms, marrying the traditional with modern aspects to her personal style. She is currently working on establishing a Lifestyle Brand featuring a range of products, including an eatery showcasing the variety of Kenyan style cuisine in its entirety. She is the founder of Ma Phoebe’s Sauces, a Kenyan gourmet food condiments brand, which she intendeds to see retailing in the continent of Africa.
Gillianne Obaso is a retired practitioner with 25 years experience in the Kenyan film industry. As an absentee parent then working on location, she was faced with the challenge of meeting her infant son’s nutritional needs. She came up with ‘mummy in a jar’ a concept which eventually saw the birth of Ma Phoebe’s Sauces. Whilst working in film production, the answer to the question ‘what is Kenya’s national dish?’ – was always ‘Nyama choma’. To challenge this limited perspective, she conceived an eatery featuring a fusion of Kenyan food. Ma Phoebe’s Sauces is the first step in this endeavor as they
complement the entire spectrum of the intended menu.
Industry Experience
The self confessed foodie has since developed a line of 6 food condiments under the brand name Ma Phoebe’s Sauces. Phoebe is her late mother who taught her how to cook and whose image is captured in the logo. The sauces comprise slow cooked quality nutritious recipes, hand-made in small batches, specifically created to complement numerous dishes, whilst encouraging healthy eating habits and promoting awareness of the diversity and splendor of contemporary Kenyan cuisine. They have garnered a strong word of mouth following and have been tested on the market in Farmers markets,Food Bazaars and small commercial outlets. Of vital importance to the business is now technical training, seed and growth capital, marketing alignment, and finally retail expansion.