“I want people to discover our culture and our food, not just African people but everyone else should try it and learn more about who we are.”
Rosie Awori (Local Journalism Initiative)
According to the Mbia girls, the best way to learn about a different culture is take a bite from it. Christelle, Angel and their mother Nathalie have always loved experimenting with food and flavours.
Christelle Mbia Ndaye, has always set her eyes on having a restaurant of her own. Then in early March, COVID-19 started to put a hold on everything. everything down as “social distancing” became a part of the nation’s lexicon,. Soon enough restaurants began to shut down and the demand for take-out meal began to rise.
It all started the wheels in Christelle’s mind turning. She sat down with the CONTACT and shared more about Mbia Grill.
“All the restaurants were closed, and people wanted food during the pandemic. We decided to have a small pop up in Ottawa with a sample of our food which is Congolese cuisine and see how the public would react.”
And so Mbia grill was conceived, the two sisters and mother decided to write a love letter to Congo through healthy and savoury Congolese cuisine.
“People loved it and the calls started coming in. Since I live in Montreal, we decided to do this from both Ottawa and Montreal. I run things in Montreal, while my sister does catering in Ottawa,” Christelle explains.
Mbia Grill has chosen to be kind to the earth and to their consumers by using organic and healthy alternatives as well as ethical packaging for their food.
With pride in her voice, Christelle explains that they have chosen to be environmentally friendly, “We use recyclable containers without the toxic plastic for our packaging. I don’t cook for the sake of it, but I cook because I want people to enjoy good food in the healthiest way possible.
Memories of her late father and his health struggles motivated Christelle to take a closer look at the food and its components. “What you put into your mouth can either heal or hurt you.”
“The death of my father shocked me and pushed me to research about ingredients and although I love food and I am very particular about the ingredients I use. I know that African food can sometimes be perceived as fatty, but we use good and healthy ingredients. I have had my own health challenges so I understand that you must be careful with what you ingest.”
Their goal is to highlight Congolese and African culture through their cuisine.
“I want people to discover our culture and our food, not just African people but everyone else should try it and learn more about who we are.”
On plans to have a restaurant, Christelle is waiting for the right time.
“We just don’t want to open a restaurant for the sake of opening we are building our client base and moreover we aren’t driven by money we all have jobs; this is a passion, so we won’t just settle for any place just to make money. We want it to be right.”
“In the winter we will probably have a kitchen where we can have people come in for pick up as we work towards the restaurant that we feel will be best for our customers.”
Mbia grill’s menu has a curated selection of popular Congolese cuisine from “feuilles de manioc” to “braised goat meat,” all delicately prepared with organic ingredients.
They are available for deliveries across Montreal and Ottawa and they can be found on both Facebook and Instagram as Mbia Grill.
