The Manager of the all-male catering and logistics company, Menscook, has revealed that Menscook began with only seven boys, including himself and the CEO.
Speaking on The Career Trail program on JoyNews, Wisdom Obeng Nyarko (WON), stated that the company was initially conceived in 2017 by the founder, Patrick Davoro, who was his school friend.
“In 2018, the founder had already started the business, but it wasn’t fully established yet,” he said. “That same year, he reached out to me, saying he couldn’t do it alone and invited me to join. I agreed,” he recounted.
Mr. WON noted that he had an offer from a more established company at the time but chose Menscook because he wanted to be part of a business where he could contribute to decision-making rather than just follow orders.
“Even though I had an offer from a company which was more established, I rejected their offer, and rather accepted the offer to join Menscook I rejected accepted Menscook’s offer because I wanted to be part of a company where I would be part of decision making and not the other way round,” he explained.
Following his decision to join, the team formally registered the business in 2019, taking care of all the necessary administrative steps to operate legally.
“When we officially started, we were just seven people,” he revealed. “Though the team was small, what kept us going was our passion. We all loved what we did and were committed to making the business succeed.”
Mr. Nyarko also explained why Menscook chose to be an all-male company. The idea was to challenge the stereotype that the kitchen is only a woman’s domain and to encourage men to participate actively in cooking.
“We naturally started with men, and over time, we realized this gave us a unique position in a female-dominated market,” he said.
“We wanted to show grooms that they can also cook for their wives and contribute in the kitchen when needed. There is nothing wrong with men cooking,” he continued.
However, he said that the journey was not without challenges, saying financing was a major hurdle at the beginning, with banks and institutions reluctant to offer support.
“Financing was a big challenge. We started without loans or venture capital because banks were not ready to back us,” he noted.
Additionally, he said the COVID-19 pandemic nearly brought the business to a halt, since most of their income came from event catering, the lockdowns in 2020 severely impacted them.
“One of the major challenges that nearly brought us down was COVID-19. We had just started in 2019, and then the pandemic hit in 2020, stopping most of our events,” he recounted.
Despite these setbacks, the team re-evaluated their business model and strategized to stay afloat. He also mentioned that support from the Ghana Enterprises Agency also helped them weather the storm.
“Post-COVID, the support we got from the Ghana Enterprises Agency helped us a lot to stay afloat,” he acknowledged.
Today, Menscook has grown significantly from its humble beginnings. The original seven boys have expanded into a larger team, and the company has won multiple prestigious awards, including the Best Caterer award from the Ghana Event Vendors Association in 2019 and 2021, the Pulse Food Influencer Award twice in a row, and the Women’s Choice Award.
“Our growth has been steady. Now we are a number. When I cast my mind back to how it started and where we are today, I just smile” Mr. Nyarko concluded.
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