Ellie’s Kitchen

Ellie’s Signature Sauces

Ellie Kisyombe, End Direct Provision Activist and Founder of award-winning non-profit social enterprise Our Table has just launched her own business venture - Ellie's Kitchen Home Edition, with a range of signature sauces.

 
Ellie Kisyombe spent several years living in Direct Provision and like all asylum seekers in Ireland, during her time there she was denied the right to work, or even the basic right to cook for herself and her family. Combining the business acumen and social skills that she’s honed over the last six years directing Our Table along with the training she received on Ballymaloe Cookery School’s 12 Week Course she has successfully set up her own business and developed a range of condiments 

We caught up with Ellie to find out more…

Tell us about the new venture? 

I am so excited to be able to announce the launch of Ellie's Kitchen Home Edition. Eighteen months on from gaining my Irish residency and having spent several years living in Direct Provision, Ellie's Kitchen is the next chapter of my story here in Ireland, which I started through co-founding the non-profit social enterprise, Our Table in Dublin in 2015.

Now is the time for me to lay a solid foundation and build a bright future for myself and my children. The time I spent in Direct Provision was a very difficult period in my life. I was unable to work and gain employment and denied the basic right of cooking for myself and my family. Getting my residency has finally given me my freedom back and being able to start my own business and share my food with the world is a very liberating feeling. I’m launching Ellie’s Kitchen with a range of signature Hot and Pasta Sauces inspired by my Malawian culinary heritage that are ideal for home cooking, with many more products currently in development.   

When did you decide to start your own business? Was it a growing realization or a flash of inspiration? 

I've known for a while now that I wanted to run my own business. I wanted to launch a business that allowed me continue the great work that I’d been doing with Our Table - creating a nurturing environment where people leaving the asylum system, and wider migrant community, can learn skills, be paid a wage, and gain invaluable experience of the Irish food industry. 

However, owning a social enterprise that also thrives through business was always going to be tricky. There's a slight difference between private businesses and social enterprises unless you seek funding, which in my case was more difficult and requires a lot of paperwork. To be able to fully move on with my life I wanted to be financially independent so I sought a lot of advice and consultation from people with expertise in this area. After I realised that you can have a private business and run a charity as well, I thought this was the best path for me to go down as it will help me to achieve everything that I’m looking to do while also continuing my association with Our Table. Through Ellie’s Kitchen Home Edition I will donate a percentage of the company’s profits to help sustain Our Table’s campaigning and training. I’ll also continue with my own community work, through education and support programs - something I’m very passionate about and really enjoy doing.

 What challenges did you have to overcome?

There have been so many challenges setting up Ellie’s Kitchen, mainly because it’s a food business. There are a lot of aspects you need to consider. Firstly, ensuring that you have enough funds to cover all of the start-up costs and then making sure that everything you do is HSE compliant. I’m very grateful that I was able to call on the expertise Darina Allen (of Ballymaloe Cookery School, where I studied in January 2017) and my good friend Michelle Darmody (Co-Founder of Our Table and Owner of Dublin’s The Cake Cafe) for giving me the advice and tools I needed to get that side of things sorted.

What has been the highlight of the journey?

Understanding that I’m now in a very different place in the world. I’ve left Direct Provision behind me and now feel like I’m part of the community. I have the realisation that I’m no longer the Ellie that people pity because of my circumstances, but a business woman like any other Irish citizen who just wants to better themselves in society.

Any low points or lessons learned?

I’ve learnt so much about myself. About needing to rely on my inner strength and the power of social economy and all that can help you achieve versus simply having money in the bank. I’ve found that having people and friends who just want the best for you is much more valuable. 

Where do you hope to take the business in the coming year?

I want to see people really enjoying using our products and to see this story go beyond Ireland and create more opportunities, not for only me, but also those that have joined me on this journey. 

And anything else that I haven’t asked that she might want to add 

I want to say a massive thank you to my close friends, who grouped together to secure the funds needed to get the business off the ground at a time when the dream seemed so far away. And for the endless hours of mentorship they generously gave me and the self belief they've instilled in me. 

I also want to show appreciation for my new Ellie's Kitchen Team of industry professionals who have worked so hard to make all of this a reality. There are many names to mention but I’d especially like to name check Chris Towers (Food Story PR), Tracie Daly (Food Business Consultant) and Stephen Friel (Friel Consulting), who does great work in helping refugees and asylum seekers to set up their own businesses. It really has been a team effort - I just couldn’t have done this without their amazing support.

I’d also like to show my gratitude to Dr. Sheila Cannon (Trinity College) and Faye Drouillard for their many years of mentorship and support. And lastly, I want to honor my Late Father and Mother, and most of all my late Aunt, Monica Chitawo, who took over where my parents left off.

My dream is to continue making them proud by grabbing this precious opportunity and accomplishing everything I possibly can with Ellie's Kitchen. 

Visit ellieskitchenhomeedition.com