“This is an ode to our love for our children, family, friends and the special things in our world.”

Welcome to Epicurean Irene

Agápe means love in Greek, however, my husband and I call each other Ahabi pronounced (ag-ha-bi). We have been calling each other this since we started dating in 2007. As a matter of fact, our children were convinced that daddy and mummy have the same name until they started formal school at 4yrs. I remember the shock on our eldest’s face when we sat her down and told her our real names. Ahabi came up as a written malapropism when we were dating as we got into a habit of emailing or texting each other by using ‘ahabi’ instead of ‘agápe’. This has carried on to date and was the natural name for this blog as it is encapsulates everything we love in written form. Ahabilove is an ode to our love for our children, family, friends and all the things we love about life.

We are privileged to live in a world where our children and future generations can have a digital life-map into the lives we lead and how our love, which has transcended so much, is transforming us as a family. I wish I fully knew how my father and grandparents grew up. I wish I could see how my grandparents coped in a war-torn country with a young family and the effect of regime change. I wish I had a video of my father holding me singing and dancing along hospital corridors the moment he held me for the first time, I hear he was so joyful, they had never witnessed a 6ft 4inch man of stature break into song over the birth of a baby girl…in those days it would have been understandable had I been a boy but daddy said he fell in love and could not contain his joy…he just had to sing.

This blog is a song of hope to every parent who has lost a child, anyone with a disabling condition and for every child who dreams of someday having a platform for inspiring others despite beginnings and circumstances, which at first dictate otherwise.

I was born in Kenya with Ugandan and Somali blood, my love of food and fashion came to life in India. I credit New Delhi with awakening my taste buds, this is where I started experimenting with dishes, learned about spices from visiting the markets and acquired a love and appetite for all things food!!! I adore West African, French, Greek, Italian and Chinese cuisine and will always incorporate various aspects of them in most of my dishes. I am currently obsessed with all things Japanese. Izakaya dishes will be making their way to my kitchen table and I cannot wait to interpret and share my version. Just imagine the fusion of all these cultures.

My sense of adventure, discovery, and growth has given me an encyclopaedic knowledge of all manner of things from food to fashion, interior design, motoring, the arts, history, and culture. I am happiest when I am giving or sharing. I seem to always get more than I bargained for, but in a positive way. Let me save you some bucks and show you how with just a few small changes here and there you can live your life Fabulously.

Join us on this journey; we hope and pray that what was initially meant for our children and future progeny will extend to and inspire others.

Stay tuned… Epicurean Irene.

Instafeed @ahabilove