Kismayo Kitchen

Vermont

Apr 27

African

Where East African Tradition Meets The American Sandwich.

Anisa Mohammed’s life journey began at a refugee camp in Kenya. For her family, and countless other Somalians displaced by war, food was not a product of passion but a tool for survival. Young girls like Anisa were taught to cook out of necessity. It wasn’t until meeting her late husband Ahmed Omar, founder of Kismayo Kitchen in Burlington, that she embraced food as the language of love. Omar, like Anisa, was a young Somali refugee uprooted by conflict. He migrated to the United States at the age of 17, and in 2015, married Anisa. Inspiration struck Omar after the couple moved to Vermont. “He loved cooking. Omar had such a drive for entrepreneurship, for community; I worked with him to bring his passion to life”. Together, Anisa and her husband opened Kismayo Kitchen to bring the flavors of their homeland to Burlington, albeit with an American twist. Dishes like rice and chicken, slow cooked with fragrant spices, and the Kismayo Philly Cheesesteak, join ingredients familiar to Americans and Somali kitchens in flavorful fusion. Since Omar’s sudden passing, Anisa continues cooking to honor her late husband’s legacy. At Kismayo Kitchen, “the secret ingredient is always love”.