Frédérique Roseland Nzoghe and her secrets of good food

GABON

Today, Artiaf visits Frédérique Roseland Nzoghé, a young cook and self-taught pastry chef that we first discovered on social networks. The beauty of the images of his pastries and desserts stir up gluttony, dig the belly and bring tears to the eyes. It is in her parents' villa south of Libreville in the Commune of Owendo that the craftswoman, looking relaxed, welcomes us with a pretty smile. She invites us to take a homemade juice accompanied by some sweets whose flavors are still engraved on our taste buds. Here, we give you word for word the content of our interview.

Artiaf: Who is Frédérique Roseland Nzoghe?

FRN: I am a young Gabonese, 35 years old and mother of a 7-year-old girl. I did my classes at the Lycée National Léon Mba (LNLM) and I hold a professional degree in Shipping Management (Transport and Maritime Logistics) obtained at IPS in Accra, Ghana.

Artiaf: From what seems to us, you excel in cooking, what is it exactly?

FRN: Cooking and me are a long-standing story. From the age of 8, I started cooking for my brothers and sisters. It is a gift I have from God and my parents. I've never been to a school for that. It's just out of love for cooking. Today, it is a passion that I have simply managed to materialize. Indeed, in 2017, I set up my little company: Grain Magique, a catering service at home. Boosted by friends for whom I was already organizing cocktails, the visibility of my services has increased a lot on social networks. Given the growing demand from people interested in my know-how on the one hand and given my difficulties in finding a job, I simply decided to devote all my energy to developing my business.

Artiaf: How is your business doing? Where are you deploying?

FRN: For now, I'm going slowly. With the help of social networks and people of good faith such as you, Grain Magique somehow manages to have a certain audience and I thank you for that. For now, we are only working on Libreville. Apart from the catering service, we also offer culinary assistance at home for individuals who do not have enough time to cook themselves or for people wishing to learn how to cook good dishes. Indeed, we also give cooking classes. But we are open to any other proposal from within the country.

Artiaf: Culinary help at home? It is an innovation in Libreville it seems to us, where does this beautiful idea come from?

FRN: Quite frankly it's an idea that came to me like that..., a click. I was thinking about a new idea that would set me apart from the competition. In addition, I needed to diversify my service offering. That's how I matured and then validated the concept. So the day I published on the web my first ad inherent to this new service, my conviction was not great. However, I was surprised to find that I had my first client in less than five (5) minutes and more than thirty (30) likes in less than an hour. People started calling me for more information about home cooking help. I was happy to explain my concept to customers. I immediately understood that my idea was good and that in the long run, it would appeal to more consumers. Especially since in talking with relatives, many were already complaining about the lack of time to cook at home while others regretted their inadequacies in terms of culinary knowledge. I relied on all these clues to develop this new activity with the help of my "Open mind".

Artiaf: How do you organize yourself to prepare and deliver your dishes?

FRN: The development of the dishes is done on the basis of a menu previously chosen by the customer. I cook at home or at the home of the person concerned. And as for delivery, it's the same, either we deliver the dishes at home, or the customer comes himself to pick up his dishes at my place.

Artiaf: What's on your menus?

FRN: Ahh !!! CA!!! You can find a little bit of everything in my menus. There is everything, from the simplest to the most complex whether in terms of starters, main courses and desserts. We are present in African cuisine, especially Gabonese and Western. We make salted fish with cassoulet or lasagna for example. There is also the mpundu madessu it is a Congolese dish. My stay in Ghana sometimes allows me to make West African dishes.

Artiaf: When you take stock of your activities, do you have hope?

FRN: Yes, I have a lot of hope.

Artiaf: Are your customers satisfied?

FRN: I don't know how to answer that question, I still believe they are. By the way, I invite you to become one of my clients. I think you will be in a better position to appreciate.

Artiaf: Are you encountering any difficulties, if so which ones?

FRN: Yes, especially financially. We always aspire to be better equipped materially, you know? For that, we need a lot of money. Also, it sometimes seems impossible to meet all customer expectations. An additional investment in manpower is felt. In any case, we do not lose hope, God always remains in control.

Artiaf: What advice would you give to anyone who would like to follow in your footsteps?

FRN: I would advise them to go for it without really thinking too much. Believe in your project and above all be patient. You see, it is only a few months since I started my business, I never imagined being the center of attention. Today, here I am doing an interview.

Artiaf: Miss Frédérique Roseland Nzoghe, Thank you!!!

FRN: I am the one who thanks you for this opportunity that you offer me and that God keep us.

Artiaf: See you soon!