A DIY solution

Exose at Home x One Catering Prep, Manchester

The first lockdown was a huge blow for Exose Grant Lopo-Ndinga. A finalist in 2019’s MasterChef: The Professionals, the 24-year-old had left a full-time job to do pop-up events with his fellow finalists. Suddenly, those dates were cancelled.

This came just as Exose was finding his cooking groove, too. He went on TV, not to find fame, but to test himself. “I was insecure about my cheffing skills. I felt I was slow and not creative. I thought, right, let’s try a hard competition, never thinking I’d get to the final. Obviously, I came out with a lot more confidence.”

He also acquired a large social media profile which (note: this self-starter created his own business, Granted Cakes, aged 17) was vital to the lockdown launch of Exose at Home. First, Exose sold chilled meals and, latterly, twice-aweek, he has been delivering hot dishes in Manchester, his menus ranging from “homely” takes on Caribbean dishes to fresh pasta.

It is all very DIY: “I’ve not even got a website.” Exose was cooking at home, initially, then in a closed restaurant and is now in a friend’s catering prep space. Menus appear on social media, orders are taken by phone and email, then diners are invoiced with payment details.

But it works. Exose keeps numbers manageable and sells out on pre-order. It is a neat, sustainable stopgap: “The business came out of nowhere and where it is now is incredible.”

Meal boxes for two, £45; facebook.com/ExoseAtHome