How depression turned Kenyan rugby sevens star Dennis Ombachi into a TikTok cooking sensation known as ‘The Roaming Chef’
- A bad injury forced him to retire from the game but it also gave rise to depression ‘that has always been there’
- But inspired by the food on his travels and cooking videos, he ran a blog, became a chef and made videos that became smash hits
“Done!” – the catchphrase punctuating former rugby player Dennis Ombachi’s cooking videos is as famous as the balcony of the Nairobi flat where he films himself in action.
A former rugby sevens international, Ombachi reinvented himself to become a social media star with a global fan base in just a few years.
He has 2.3 million followers on TikTok and 1.4 million on Instagram.
Known as “The Roaming Chef”, Ombachi produces dynamically edited videos – shot against the backdrop of the Kenyan capital’s skyline and featuring his trademark monosyllabic commentary – that have earned him the 2022 TikTok award for best African content creator.
It was fitting recognition of his quest to recover his footing after a battle with mental illness.
Feted in his East African homeland for scoring the winning try that took Kenya’s rugby sevens team to the Rio 2016 Olympics, Ombachi played the global circuit for a decade, also taking part in two World Cups in 2013 and 2018.
