Our founder
Big Mama.
Lynda Ndukwe — known to most people as Big Mama — used to work at the Ministry of Defence in Area 1, Abuja. She started selling food to her colleagues from the office. When she quit to do it properly, she set up a canopy right opposite the ministry. Her children came to help during school holidays.
It was never smooth. Over the years there were demolitions, relocations, and stretches where the business had to shut down completely — space problems, money problems. Big Mama's Calabar Pot disappeared more than once.
"Even if it's from a restaurant, it should taste like it was made in a good home."
A few years ago, Big Mama started a new Instagram account. Her younger daughter took over managing it and the business came back — new customers, old regulars, and eventually an online ordering system that means you no longer have to find the canopy.
She grew up eating her mother's cooking and that is still her benchmark. The standard she holds herself to is whether the food tastes like it came from a home where someone actually cares. Rice, soups, stews: whatever goes out has to meet that bar.