He started cooking in Nairobi homes, now he’s built a thriving meal prep business

Godrick Mali, founder of Mali’s Meals, during an interview (left), and dishes he prepared in Lavington, Nairobi, on April 2, 2026.

Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group

Godrick Mali Luta did not set out to be an entrepreneur. He began by cooking in people’s homes, a skill sharpened in childhood when his mother insisted her sons prepare their own meals.

“I had moments in my childhood that could point to how I ended up here,” he says, recalling how growing up in a house full of boys, his mother would have them cook for themselves. “And then, whenever we travelled from Western Kenya to Nairobi, we would prepare maandazi and chapati to eat on the road to cut costs.”

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