Malas Foods, a foremost catering service company in Nigeria, recently celebrated her 25 years of operation in rendering premium catering services to her esteemed customers. The event which took place at the prestigious Darlington Hall and Event Centre, Lagos, witnessed the attendance of the media and many government, business and corporate personalities.
According to the CEO of Malas Foods, Mrs. Morenike Okupe, the company decided to organize a ‘Thanksgiving Service’ to appreciate God for his faithfulness in keeping the company in operation for 25 years, even with all the turbulence in the business environment. “We are not just celebrating the number of years of being in business, but also for delivering world class catering services to our customers. And as you can see most of our customers are here to testify to the quality of our delivery. So, we are showing gratitude to God and also celebrating the priviledge of satisfying our customers”.
Reflecting to when she started the business she said, “I cannot stop thanking God because at the beginning I never knew things will turn out to be this great. It was so challenging and difficult. There were initial set-backs. But with determination, hard work, and trust in God one was able to overcome those teething problems. Again, I had a passion for catering services. I also had great confidence in myself. Today, when I look back, I cannot count on my passion or my efforts, I can only credit the success to God’s faithfulness. I am truly happy that Malas Foods has come this far”.
Malas Foods, she said, has been providing professional catering services for 25 years now, and today the company is one of the best catering businesses in Africa. “Our creative kitchen comes with freshness that gives our foods, including cross over foods, such an outstanding taste at the gourmet level that guarantees premium quality at all times. Besides God’s grace, satisfying our clients is the real reason Malas Foods is still strong and going 25 years after”.
The event to mark Malas Foods 25th anniversary started with a special thanksgiving service that featured songs, hymns, praise and worship as well as a brief message delivered by Pastor Eyitayo Babalola of the City of God Covenant International Ministries. In his sermon taken from Psalm 107, Pastor Babalola commended the management of Malas Foods for putting God first, and recognising that the successes they have achieved in the past 25 years were purely from God’s goodness. Interpreting the significance of the number 25 as standing for multiplied grace, Pastor Babalola prayed and prophesied for multiple favour and grace on the staff and management of Malas Foods as well as all well-wishers and friends present at the event.
According to Mrs. Okupe, this event is also an opportunity to appreciate and reward the staff for their commitment and for keeping faith with the company; and also to recognize the customers and suppliers for their patronage over the years and to thank the company’s well-wishers for their goodwill. Top among those honoured at the occasion was the longest serving staff of the organisation, Bose Gbadebo who received lots of praises and encomium as she came out to pick her award. For her dedication and long period of service, Bose received a cash prize and a huge raise to her salary. Two other outstanding members of staff, Mama Lara and Mama Femi were also honoured at the event with cash prizes and raise in their remunerations. Some members of staff that have passed on to glory were also recognised posthumously, and one minute silence was observed in their honour.
A special video documentary showcasing the history of the company and various milestones achieved in the last 25 years was shown to excitement of guests present. High-brow clients and admirers were shown giving testimonial, sharing their experiences and endorsing the good works of Malas Foods. The documentary also fully exhibited the innovative and highly professional full catering service offerings of the company. It showed the company is fully equipped to deliver cutting edge catering solutions to private individuals and corporate entities with varied needs for different categories of gatherings ranging from weddings, burials, birthdays to political or religious conventions.
In her vote of thanks, Mrs Okupe expressed special appreciation to all the guests who cleared their busy schedules, especially at this end – of – year period, to honour her invitation. She also commended all staff of her company, past and present, and reiterated that the success of the past 25 years had been achieved through the hard work, honesty and loyalty of all the staff. “I believe in the human capital of a company. The originator could be a genius, hardworking and very resourceful, but without a dedicated staff, the business will cease to grow. I sincerely salute the workers of this company”, she said.