GREEN BAY − A new catering service company is bringing authentic African, Asian and Mediterranean dishes to the area.
Aisha and Fatima Umar said they decided to start their own food business called The Black Orchid Catering to fill a void in Green Bay’s gastronomy, providing authentic and creative recipes from their parents’ homeland — Nigeria — and other places across the globe.
The sisters consider themselves best friends and decided to start the catering service to offer something unique and share their culture. They launched the business in May, and last month — with the help of Maria Padilla, diverse small-business manager for the Greater Green Bay Chamber — they held a ribbon cutting with Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich.
Aisha and Fatima said Padilla helped them find a commercial kitchen at 1420 Division St., which they rent to prepare the food.
The Umars were born in Madison but shortly after moved to Nigeria and then to Malaysia, where they spent 20 years and grew up.
“We moved back in 2008, to Green Bay, and have been living here for 15 years,” Aisha said.
Aisha and Fatima said they learned how to cook with her grandmother and mother. Aisha, as the older daughter, helped her mother in the kitchen. She also worked in the restaurant industry for several years.
“In our culture, you as the older daughter start cooking for the family,” Fatima said. “She helped my mom in the kitchen a lot.”
“I also had a big girl job that allowed me to save money and travel,” Aisha said.
Aisha said while working and traveling, she visited 44 countries, which helped acquire more knowledge about different gastronomies.
“(Fatima) does the African dishes, I do mainly Asian,” Aisha said.
They said although the menu is mainly African and Asian, there is a bit of fusion between different dishes and cultures. The menu is mixed with dishes from different parts of the world, but the sisters said they can work with a budget and the client can always decide what they want.
As part of the appetizers, customers will find patatas bravas, which are fried potatoes drizzled with mild house-made tomato sauce and topped with cotija cheese and lemon zest, a plate originally from Spain. Other entries include tostones, a smashed and fried plantain, sticky Asian meatballs and Nigerian donuts. They also offer several soups, noodles, salads, chicken in different versions, tacos and more.
“We do cater the Midwest cuisine, it just may have our take on it,” Aisha said.
For now, the sisters have an email on their Facebook page where people can see what they are offering each day and reach out. In the near future, they plan on adding lunch boxes, and pickup orders will start Nov. 18.
“Maybe sometime in the future we will have a food truck,” they said.
For more information, follow the business’s Facebook and Instagram pages or email at theblackorchidcatering@gmail.com.
Ariel Perez is a business reporter for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. You can reach him at APerez1@gannett.com or view his Twitter profile at @Ariel_Perez85.
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