Kento Sekine: A Fried Chicken Shop Owner in Africa

2022/08/24

I love "increasing deliciousness." Sharing tastes that moved me and seeing others' culinary horizons expand with a "Wow, this is delicious!" fills my heart. Since graduating from Keio University, I have been working to "increase deliciousness" by training as a chef and founding an insect-based food company.

Currently, I run a small fried chicken stall in Ghana, Africa. Here, there are still few options for "deliciousness." That is why I want to increase "deliciousness" here.

Since starting the stall, I've faced constant, stimulating challenges: my first staff member disappeared on their second day, land I thought I'd leased was occupied, and a child I befriended stole money from me. My adrenaline levels rise day by day. Yet, because I have a fundamental "love" for what I do, I am able to keep struggling forward even in a foreign land.

Looking back, my ten years at Keio University starting from Chutobu Junior High School taught me the attitude of pursuing what I "love" to the fullest. A symbolic example is Keio University Shiki High School. Having originated as an agricultural high school, it is filled with a relaxed and easygoing atmosphere, for better or worse.

In the Shiki Forest, which spans a vast site, the teachers' classes were incredibly free. One year might be spent solely on the history of Okinawa. Another on reading Max Weber's "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism." Or just deep-diving into "5 Centimeters per Second." Interacting daily with teachers who enjoyed talking freely about specialized themes provided students with many real-life examples of people living by doing only what they love. Because the teachers best embodied the attitude of pursuing their passions to an extraordinary degree, the entire school had a culture that allowed for individuality without comparison to others. Having grown up eating the persimmons that grew on the Shiki High School grounds, I may have unknowingly become dyed in those Shiki colors.

Ten years have passed since then. The high school student who was eating persimmons at Shiki High School is now struggling to open a fried chicken restaurant and build a poultry farm in Africa.

From a "small stall" to a "delicious company representing Africa." "Hard things" will likely continue to rain down in this foreign land. Even so, I want to cherish what I "love" and carve out the future I envision with a spirit of independence and self-respect.