Mogadishu, Somalia (CNN) -- When Ahmed Jama decided to leave behind the successful restaurant he'd started in London to open a new one in one of the world's most dangerous cities, his hometown of Mogadishu, reactions ranged from surprise to scorn to straightforward questioning of his sanity. "A lot of people think that I am a crazy guy," says the Somali chef, his wiry figure looming over roasting pans full of vegetables and meat inside his downtown Mogadishu eatery. "When I opened this restaurant they could not believe it," he remembers. "When I came here and bought the land some people told me, 'you are not coming back, come back when you're ready' -- I said, 'I am going to build it soon.'"
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Somali chef Ahmed Jama owns five restaurants across Mogadishu
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He left his successful cafe in London to start a new business in his hometown
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Jama says he wanted to give his countrymen a taste of normal life
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Growing numbers of Somalis come back to be part of their country's renaissance
Last year, suicide bombers attacked one of @placeholder's restaurants, killing several people.