Pamellah Oduor: Former Bank Manager Who Quit Lucrative Job To Concentrate On Cooking Passion

• When Pamellah Oduor resigned from the position of a bank manager in 2015 to concentrate on her passion for cooking, many found the decision ridiculous
• However, she was willing to dump the corporate world because, in her words, it no longer made sense to be a bank manager
• Her decision has since paid off as she's managed to build herself into a reputable personality who even cooks food for export to Kenyans and other clients in the diaspora

As of 2015, Pamellah Oduor had risen through the corporate world and scaled to the position of a bank manager, but she felt that something was missing.

Her urge to quit the banking job was driven by the fact that she had started a catering business called Spice Land and it was picking up well.

Being manager no longer made sense

Pamellah told TUKO.co.ke that as much as she was only doing gigs during the weekends, something told her that it was time for a change.

According to her, she loved cooking for people and enjoyed watching them eat her food, so making money out of her passion seemed like a better deal.

"Being a bank manager no longer made sense, so I decided to concentrate on this baby of mine despite the naysayers," she started.

Just as the business was starting to gain traction, 2020 came and the hospitality industry was hit real hard, throwing the players into limbo.

Reinvented herself during pandemic

To remain afloat, Pamellah says she resolved to cooking and doing home deliveries as well as ventured into the business of frying fish and delivering to homes as far as Nyeri and Mombasa.

The new venture went on well until she reached a point supplier was unable to meet her demand in regards to fish sizes, so she closed it down.

"Even after the lockdown was lifted business never returned to normal as people are now used to smaller events. Fast forward to now and we struggle with the high cost of food," she continued.

Even with the harsh business climate, Pamellah believes in the saying that when one door closes another one opens.

Pamela now exports food to diaspora

She has since rebranded again and now concentrates on family meals, with surprise being that a bigger chunk of her clients are from the diaspora.

Pamellah discloses that the clients either order for their families in Kenya or ask for the meals to be sent to them whenever someone is travelling.

As of the time of doing the interview, she was sending ghee chapati and mahamri to a client in Hong Kong, China.

"In other words, keep grinding and change with the times. We are not giving up any time soon," she advised.

Does she miss banking industry?

Asked whether she would consider going back to banking, Pamellah says she did her time and her new path is more fulfilling than the corporate world.

Despite having exited the industry, she left with valuable lessons that have helped run her business to what it currently is.

"Banking gave me skills in handling customer complaints and managing expectations, business continuity planning, and marketing," she stated.

Apart from just cooking, she founded a Facebook group called Let's Cook Kenyan Meals where other food enthusiasts like herself converge to share ideas and revel in their art.

Let's Cook Kenyan Meals

Through the group, she has also managed to train hundreds of others on culinary art, most of whom have gone ahead to start their own businesses.

Pamellah also runs philanthropic exercises through the group, one of the most recent instances being when members contributed towards buying a new oven for Edinah Nyamanya, a mother with a cerebral palsy baby.

Edinah makes a living by baking while carrying the baby on her back, which ground to a halt when her oven broke down.

After her case was shared on the group, Top Notch Appliances offered a new oven at KSh 16,000, which is half the price.

In under an hour, members had contributed the money and gifted the hardworking woman the new equipment.

"We even managed to be selected as one of the winners of the global Facebook Leadership award," she concluded with pride.