Shekupe’s Kitchen: From pretend cooking to culinary success

Shekupe’s Kitchen is a catering business owned by Lovisa Shekupe Namwandi, a self-taught caterer. The 24-year-old, who is also a teacher by profession, grew up in a family of cooks, encouraging her passion for cooking. She was born in Eheke, in the northern part of Namibia, and raised in Oniipa and Ondangwa.

Namwandi is her mother’s only child, and she spent most of her childhood at her grandparents’ house with her cousins. Whenever they played 'house', she would always take up the cooking role to serve them and her grandparents with ‘pretend sand-pap’ dishes.

The dishes were made in cans she collected from the bushes to use as make-believe pots and cook over the fire. “Other times, when the elders were not home, I would get food from our kitchen to cook in the cans. I have a burn scar on my hand from my pretend cooking adventures.”



Learning the culinary ropes

Namwandi admitted she never would have guessed she would one day take up catering as a business. Her transition into the kitchen happened at the age of nine, when she was in grade three.

Having gone into the hostel at a relatively young age, she made use of every ‘out weekend’ when she came home to cook for her family, consequently honing her culinary skills. “It was only pap, which I was really good at then. My aunties later taught me the basics of other meals. When I visited my mother during festive seasons, she would help me learn my way around salads. They are her speciality!” she said.



Serving a larger audience

In January 2021, Namwandi decided to put her culinary skills to use and start her own business, founding Shekupe’s Kitchen. This, she said, was with the aim of keeping herself busy while earning money to help with her expenses instead of depending more on her mother. She bought her first kitchen utensils with a 2020 NSFAF refund and started serving lunch packs with ‘omatangala’ and ‘pap’.

“Most of my clients were elderly people. To attract young people, I came up with the idea to sell burgers,” she said.

She has since become more passionate and wanted more people to taste her food, which led to her branching out into catering to serve a larger group of people. What first started with only three weddings to cater to has since sprouted to several clients. Her Instagram business page, @shekupes_kitchen, currently stands at 13.7K followers.

In 2022, she introduced the ‘braai boxes’ which brought in many more customers and more followers on Instagram.

“It was mostly South African. They would DM my account, placing orders, thinking I was based in South Africa. Shekupe’s Kitchen has made it to the South African Instagram page several times. Seeing them recognise me made me happy. They were marketing for me.”



Inspiring cuisines

The founder of Shekupe’s Kitchen admitted that she gets most of her inspiration from South African catering businesses.

She underscored the likes of ‘Cooking with Nthabi’ and ‘Bae’, saying that she loves how clean and organised their food is.

“They inspire me to try new things and elevate my business. As caterers, our priority is to skillfully mix and play with ingredients to create delightful dishes. I consistently strive to showcase local dishes, demonstrating to Namibians and others how certain foods are prepared, rather than solely focusing on Western cuisines.”



Adapting to the industry

While the business is thriving, it comes with its share of challenges. She has faced issues such as clients delaying timely payments for outstanding balances and requesting refunds after their last-minute cancellations. In response, she adopted the policy of not showing up at events until fully paid. “Unfortunately, not all clients treat event vendors well, and we often go through a lot in this industry,” said Namwandi.



Words of advice

To anyone aspiring to start a business, her advice is this: “Whenever a business idea sparks in your mind, go for it and give it your best shot. Don't worry about the timing; it's never too late. Remember, we all started somewhere. The habit of comparing yourself to others can be more detrimental than any other self-destructive tendency. Don't let it steal your joy!

“To my fellow caterers, showcasing your own work through pictures is key to effective advertising. Invest time in learning to capture appealing images of your creations that you can consistently share on your social media platforms. Most importantly, refrain from using other people’s pictures.”

For bookings, you can reach Shekupe’s Kitchen at 0815894248 or via email at [email protected].