The past couple of days have been very difficult, and for a while I couldn’t bring myself to write, but I’m back with this week’s prompt.
@ladiesofhive/ladies-of-hive-community-contest-268
Christmas in Nigeria means new clothes, fresh braids, and plenty of food and meat. When it comes to food, the staples are fried rice, jollof rice, rice and stew, fried chicken, coleslaw, malt, and chin chin. It is an unspoken rule, but one that is followed diligently. Every flask delivered by neighbors contains one or several of these dishes. Preparing these meals takes a long time, so to make things easier, preparation sometimes starts a few days before Christmas. Bowls of chin chin are always ready ahead of time, the tomato blend for the stew and jollof rice base is prepared early, and the vegetables for fried rice are diced in advance. It is a whole program. Unfortunately, not everyone can handle large-scale cooking on their own. Years ago, families gathered to do Christmas cooking together, but as food services have become more popular, things have changed quite a bit. In major cities like Abuja and Lagos, elites, smaller families, young people living alone, and anyone who can afford convenience often choose to order Christmas food in bulk from caterers.
I am not a caterer or part of the food industry at all, but my friend, Success, is. He is a private chef and caterer for both large and small events. I met Success last year through my brother, and he told me all about his job. As our friendship blossomed, I ate many meals prepared by him, and his jollof rice still blows my mind every time. I often bribe him to make it for my family and me. One random day, I asked Success if he had ever considered cooking for Christmas. That conversation was how the business was born.
It was early November, so we created a simple flyer on Canva. It included the brand name, the different food packages available, and contact details for further inquiries. We began marketing aggressively. The menu and packages were colorful, and there was something for everyone. There were smaller packages that could feed three adults, as well as larger packages that could feed an entire family. The menu featured fan favorites such as jollof rice, fried rice, coconut rice, chicken stew, peppered chicken and turkey, chin chin, small chops, and zobo, also known as hibiscus drink.
Thankfully, we received quite a number of orders. We stopped accepting orders by the 20th of December, and deliveries were scheduled for Christmas Day and Boxing Day. A few days before Christmas, we went shopping for everything we would need for the cook. It was very stressful. We spent about five hours in the market bargaining and comparing prices and the quality of fresh farm produce. My role was mostly organizational and marketing-related, while Success handled the cooking. We also needed more hands for meal prep and cooking, so Success contacted some friends who volunteered to help. In total, we had about ten people on ground, including us.
Two days before Christmas, we started meal prep. We made the chin chin, marinated the chicken and turkey, diced the vegetables, and prepared the jollof base. Everything moved smoothly and quickly. On Christmas Day, we started cooking as early as 3 a.m. Success was in charge, giving instructions and coordinating the process. The meal prep from the previous days made everything much easier. He left the peppered chicken and turkey in my care, and they turned out amazing. I was very proud of myself. Other people handled frying puff puff, samosas, and spring rolls, while Success focused mainly on the rice. Nobody could do it better than him. The aroma of all the delicacies was so thick in the air that it made our stomachs rumble. After what felt like an eternity, all the meals were ready.
We moved straight into packing the different dishes. Some people packed the food, others confirmed orders and addresses, while some called the dispatch drivers. Our hands moved swiftly, as though we had been trained for this. By about 4 p.m. that day, all our orders had been sent out.
Everyone literally dropped on the floor in exhaustion. After regaining our strength, we cleaned up the mess and showered. There was food for us, but everyone was too tired to eat. Some people suggested going out for drinks, while the majority just wanted to sleep. I was part of the majority. I packed my own food into containers and headed home. When I shared some with my family, they said they should not have bothered cooking and should have patronized us instead. It was that good.
However, my family’s review was not the best part. The best part was the feedback from our customers. People sent voice notes gushing about the quality of the food, some sent pictures of empty plates, and others sent dramatic emojis and messages written in all caps. We toyed with the idea of doing it again this year, and while it was a good suggestion, it could not work due to some unavoidable circumstances. So there is no food business this Christmas
Thank you for reading 🤍
If you’d like to connect or collaborate, feel free to reach out on Instagram:
🔗 @estella.