We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kuukua Dzigbordi Yomekpe. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kuukua Dzigbordi below.

Hi Kuukua Dzigbordi, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Who is the woman in the kitchen? I heard the Guest of Honor ask. I can’t say I wasn’t eavesdropping waiting to be called out for the standing ovation I was hoping would come after the entire meal was consumed. The standing ovation came a few minutes after these words were spoken because my mentor and friend who had believed in me came in the kitchen and grabbed me by the elbow and we sashayed into her living room where everyone was gathered. They all clapped for the woman in the kitchen. That’s how the idea of Asempe Kitchen was born. I took a winding path to a women’s entrepreneurship class, some licensure programs and then I put it on the back burner. I’ve picked it up again on and off until now, ten years later I am full time managing it.

I developed Asempe Kitchen initially because my mentor Faith Adiele believed in me, but as time went on, I kept returning to it and finessing it because I knew I had something good. I was solving a problem for folks from the African continent who were missing home. I was solving a problem for the world travelers among us for who parts of Africa were their playground. I was solving a problem for those who didn’t know they had a problem I needed to solve for them. These were my curious eaters. Finally, I was also solving a problem for those who had never heard of Africa or its cuisines nor were they interested in tasting it. Little did they/do they know, Asempe (curiosity) lives in them too and they want to taste some of this yumminess. :)

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Chef Kuukua Dzigbordi Yomekpe. I am originally from Ghana, West Africa and I have been living and making communities in the United States since 1996. Kuukua means girl born on Wednesday and Dzigbordi means child of patience. I was raised until I was in my late teens in Ghana. I came to the US to study and to join my mother and her brother who were are Ohio State and Mt Carmel. I have moved about the US the past 27 years and lived on both coasts at different times. I have for now settled here in Central NY because my business has taken root here.

We provide primarily plant-based West African food to the Central NY and the Finger Lakes regions. We do plant-based meals, provide catering and pop-up services, and culinary experiences for my clients. We chose plant-based because it made the food accessible to everyone. I figure folks who eat meat, can, and sometimes do add the meat when they get home, or make a private order with me ahead of time.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I have fallen twice. Really bad falls where I was unable to walk and had to use crutches for months. These have resulted in herniated discs up and down my spine. These are healed and then are triggered again and hernaited and I live with this excruciating pain that travels to my nerves and for now, my left leg and feet with the most recent herniation in my L4-L5. I get up and go to work at 4am even on the very bad days. I do this because the minute I get into the kitchen, the pain scurries away and I am myself, sashaying across the kitchen floor with stir spoon in one hand and tasting spoon in the other commandeering 4 pots of stews at once, I know I have to keep going because there are people out there depending on me and there are newcomers waiting to discover us.

Have you ever had to pivot?

After the second fall, I was unable to walk and was on crutches for almost 3 months. I lost revenue because I was unable to cook sitting. If you know a commercial kitchen, you know it needs adaptations to be able for a differently abled person to use it. I didn’t have any resources so I simply had to stop working. I began searching for desk jobs and found one in the finger lakes region. I had to pivot, put my business on hold and start working for someone else again. Now, I have a few masters’ degrees at my disposal so I have the privilege of being able to flow in and out of many higher education careers over the past 25 years. When I took the position, I had to close down shop and it felt very sad but soon as I arrived, I looked into the farmers markets and started inquiring on how to begin again. 5 years later, we are a household name.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.asempekitchen.com
• Instagram: asempe_kitchen
• Facebook: Asempe Kitchen African Food
• Linkedin: Asempe Kitchen (Kuukua Dzigbordi Yomekpe)
• Twitter: asempe_kitchen
• Youtube: Asempe Kitchen
• Yelp: Asempe Kitchen

Image Credits
Brendan Miller Salaams Adam Sudmann Kuukua Yomekpe Yelp Columbus Emily Strand