Irene Cheptap Oret Age is a popular figure on Facebook. The 30-year-old, who prefers the moniker ‘Black Beauty’, is widely regarded as one of the top online caterers in Kenya.

She is the founder and CEO of Afrikan Eats, a restaurant that mainly operates in cloud catering. Becoming a chef has become her passion and she is making a kill from her business.

However, initially, the young lady wanted to become a doctor. Her mother could not afford the fees that would enable her to join a medical school, ultimately shattering her dreams.

Background

Irene was brought up in a family of 8. They were raised in poverty.

“Growing up in Narok County, I lacked basic things. I recall how my mother, at some point, resorted to selling local brews to provide for us,” she stated in a past interview.

Her father passed on in 2008, a tragic incident that took the wind out of her sails. At that time, she was very passionate about medical school, despite being in Form 2. Cooking had not even lingered in her mind.

With the loss of the family’s breadwinner, Irene’s mother had to step up and ensure that all her children completed their secondary education.

“I recall when my mother borrowed money from her friend and gave away our only cow as security so that my brother and I could complete high school,” she said.

After she completed high school, Irene got a job as a shopkeeper. Part of her duties involved cooking for suppliers. Here she got experience in cooking, and customers would always appreciate her meals.

Irene Cheptap made her breakthrough in the cooking world in 2015. She got an anonymous request to join a Facebook group for people with cooking interests, dubbed ‘Let’s Cook Kenyan’.

“I began posting recipes, stories and pictures of my meals. The posts attracted a big following, and I started winning cooking competitions unexpectedly,” she said.

It was here that she met her mentor, Chef Otuomo Mwafrika. He encouraged her to invest her savings and join a school for a diploma course in food and beverage at the East Africa Institute of Certified Studies.

“I don’t regret dropping my passion of being a doctor to become a chef. I always joke with my friend that I am a ‘food doctor’.”

Founding Afrikan Eats

Irene Cheptap moved to Nairobi in 2018. She and two other business partners colluded and formed an online food delivery service, which collapsed quickly as the partners began to step out to different ventures.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Irene resigned from her cleaning job and her partnership business failed.

“This was after a lady I met online made me resign from my cleaning job. I thank her because God used her to remove me from my comfort zone,” she narrated.

She had to go solo. In 2022, Irene started her cloud-cooking restaurant Afrikan Eats which picked at a high rate. She mainly markets her cooking on Facebook, where her clients are mostly based.

“Facebook has been my greatest support system where I market my products and services.”

Initially, Irene revealed she had no money to purchase cooking products. She borrowed a 2kg packet of wheat flour from a local shop.

“I went and borrowed a 2kg packet of unga from the shop at the place I was living. This is after the client ordered some chapatis, I had some oil,” she stated.

Fast forward and a year later she serves corporate customers such as Equity Bank – City Market Branch. She cooks all types of meals and charges Sh. 250 per plate. Her family packages cost Sh. 1200.

“I sell more than 250 pieces of chapati daily at Sh. 50 each. Today, I do more than two bales of unga a day and cook varieties of food for homes and offices. I deliver breakfast and lunch to several offices,” she revealed.

Irene has employed 5 cooking staff and 3 delivery riders for her business.

Challenges

Irene notes that trust is her biggest challenge in a business where the community is online-based. She states that, at times, clients refuse to pay her for the meals she delivers.

“With this, I have ensured when clients order online, I request them to pay 50% of the cost and complete the payment upon delivery.”

Irene hopes that in the future, she can finally open more local and international restaurants. She advises those with startup businesses to be humble and prayerful.

“My advice to anyone be it those who haven’t managed to further their education or those who have graduated and got no jobs, is that they should be humble, prayerful and do any job that comes their way.”

“Its just a matter of time and God will answer their prayers,” Irene concluded.