The building had been built a few years ago as an office (in the loft) and a space for a flower shop/business. This “lucky” building had now become pivotal to MyWeku Gardens restaurant. In the original plan it was meant to have been pulled down but had now received a new lease of life or perhaps more accurately it had now given my project a new lease of life as the kitchen!
In the next few days it received the most attention any building had ever received in Accra. It was weighed (not really) and measured. The idea was to turn it into a live kitchen which in normal language refers to an open kitchen where diners can sit a watch the chefs do their thing live! This meant the Windows had to be made as big as was safely possible without compromising on its structural integrity. The electrician was called in to see where all the electrical bits (plugs, wiring, metre etc) could be re-located, the mason to figure out how to open it up but keep the supporting pillars all intact. The carpenter to figure out shelving etc. Even the kitchen equipment guy came in to measure where equipment could be located. Perhaps his was the most invaluable. He suggested an extension to the kitchen which was a little hard to take as it meant we had to sacrifice some of the landscaping area! It was, however, necessary to extend it to increase the kitchen space by about a third. As an extra bonus it turned out that this renovated space could also house a small perhaps 10-12 seater chef’s table or private dining room.
