Meet the Celebrity Chef Who Turned Hobby intoBig Business
From dreaming to hang the medical stethoscope as a medical doctor to a celebrity chef. That transformation best describes the story of Mfor Bright Bungansa, the brain behind Abuja based top rising grilling out. Born in Cameroon but plying his business in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja. Growing up, Bright dreamed of being a medical doctor. But fate had other plans for him. Losing his father at a young age aborted his dreams of medical practice. But rather than give up on life, he turned his hoppy into a big business that has today given birth to Bright Grillzz Global, an exclusive catering outfit that has grilling of fish and other variety of animals as it’sspeciality.
How a hobby turned to a money-spinning venture
Bright, who runs the Bright Grillzz Global based in Garki Abuja, said that immediately he lost his father at a young age, he had to drop out of school and make do with the education he has acquired at both GBHS and JMBC all located in the North West region of Cameroon. He recalled that “growing up, I have always had a passion for grilling. I used to grill for friends at parties or other ceremonies, not even knowing that I could make money from it.” It was not until a friend told him that he can make money out of his hobby if he relocates to the city. Determined to be the pillar of support to his family, young Bright moved to the city of Douala. It was in Douala that he perfected the art of preparing barbecue and events planning and other ancillary services. “I went to the city of Douala, and I upgraded my skills. I worked for some people to raise money to set up my own small grill business back then in Cameroon. By 2006, Bright was established as one of the best hands in grill business in Douala. He noted that he has remained in love with the business that if he has another opportunity again to choose a career, he will still go for grilling and events management. “If I have the opportunity again, I will always choose this line of business because it’s something I do with happiness, confidence, and passion, Bright declared.
Coming to Nigeria
Bright who has been in Nigeria in the last 12 years recalled that it was his meeting with Obi Cubana in Cape Town, South Africa that led to his relocating to Abuja, Nigeria. Before then, many Nigerians living in Douala have been wooing him to cross over to Nigeria as he stands to make more money in his chosen business. “It was not until I went to South Africa to grill for an event, and I met my boss, Obi Cubana in South Africa. He was also invited for the same event in South Africa where i was contracted for grilling. We met there and discussed businesses. He said he wants to open a place in Nigeria and he wants to invite me to manage the grilling section. So, that was how I came to Nigeria. While with Cubana, we constructed the building housing Ibiza in Mararaba, near Abuja. I trained their staff on grilling. After some time, I left Ibiza and joined Caramello Lounge in Utako. It was from Caramello that I decided to be on my own.
On why he chose Abuja among other cities, Bright said that he chose Abuja to ply his trade as it was the city he first settled and has built his profile in Abuja. “I have built good relationships with people in Abuja. Although I travel interstate, I go to Lagos, Port Harcourt, Calabar, Anambra, I go and grill and come back. Same as when you invite us internationally, we still go and grill and come back to Abuja.
Bright Grillzz Client Base
Bright disclosed that his client base cut across all segments of the society. However, there seems to be a notion that he caters for the upper class of the society alone, from celebrity businessmen and women to musicians as well as top government functionaries. “Sometimes, if we say that we do not grill for the poor, it sounds like we are not humble. But, the honest truth is that even if you do good food, the poor man will not afford it. For instance, most Nigerians prefer to eat catfish, croaker, and tilapia. But the big boys will always go for fish like Salmon. It is very expensive and it’s not found around here. So it is the food that makes the difference. “Even though sometimes when we do content, we say we don’t grill for the poor. It’s just for content to attract the crowd, bring traffic to your page, the comments, and all that. For people who understand social media, they will understand. For people who don’t understand, they will think that we are feeling big, or that we are insulting poor people because they cannot afford food. But, it’s not like that”.
At Bright Grillzz Global We Grill any animal except humans
Bright stated that he grills any animal from different types of fish to any exotic animal. Here, ” I grill any kind of animal apart from humans. Her I grill exotic animals like ostrich, crocodile, anything. Even lion, I’ll grill. ” Bright however, would not like to disclose how he sources for the animals or how he subdues them before grilling. Grilling widely, Bright said that such information remains one of his trade secrets.
Bright Culinary School and other value additions are coming
Bright did not hide his plans to float a culinary school where he will train the next generation of chefs. “I have all the plans and everything, but I’m still waiting for a good time to generate funds and prove to the world the talent God has given me. Even as Bright awaits the right funds to hit his account, he is already engaged in online training school for people across the world. “I train people online worldwide from America, Canada, Germany, London and other farflung parts of the world. People call me and I train them online on how to grill. Aside from the training school, Bright will soon introduce his exclusive spices and sauces into the Nigerian market. “I want to expand my business, very soon, I will be selling my own spice and sauce in tin that one can go to any supermarket and get them”. He stated that it will not just be about the spices and sauces alone. “I will even state how you can grill your animals. We tell you the number of cubes you can use to season your food. Then, with the quantity you’re going to use that sauce with. So that way, one does not need to come to us, as you can stay at home and still make bright grillzz and eat.
Coping with female clients
Bright, who recently engaged his wife-to-be and is set to wed next year, admits that on few occasions, he has come under pressure from his female clients but declared that he does not forget that he is in business and as such, he always stayed focused. He further brushed aside that happy- ending is a No No for him. “I do not have pressure. Even some people call you to deliver food to them. You go to deliver food in their hotel, they come out naked. But that’s not part of our business”, he declared. According to him, “I go to the beach. So, I still consider myself on the beach. I relate with you very normally. All I want is my money. When you pay me for my food, I go my way.
Staying up ahead of the competition
Bright was quick to add that ” in every business, you have a particular set of people you attract. I have set up my business in a way that if a big man wants to come first, they will feel comfortable. ” Security is top on the charts of Bright Grillzz Global.
Our clients know that security is tight. They are protected wherever they are going to. We do not want a situation where a big man is sitting down and you see small boys around talking, misbehaving around them”. According to him, “Bright Grillzz Global is in a world of its own and as such is not in competition with anyone”. Apart from attracting quality clients and retaining their trust and confidence, Bright Grillzz Global is very creative. According to him, one of the secrets about us is that we are very creative. “If you see my workers working with me, they have been with me for more than 10 years because when they think they know it all, they will see me coming up with something new again every day. As a way of encouraging my team members, I go beyond mere payment of salaries, thereby building their trust and confidence in me to help the business stay way ahead of competition. So, they end up discovering that they are still learning every day. And me, myself, I know I’m learning every day. Every quiet moment of my life, I try to think what I can add to my business that others are not doing to see me at the top. Beyond the creativity, Bright was quick to add that he is unique, humble, respectful, faithful, and loyal to his clients, adding that “he makes a world of difference from what others are doing out there”. These attributes might be the explanation why celebrity businessmen and women, musicians and top government functionaries flock his joint at the Rooftop Restaurant, located at the Fabino Hotel, Garki, Abuja to have a bite of his grills.
Big events handled in recent past
For Bright and his team, handling big events is not new to them. However, two events stand out. According to him, one was a burial ceremony he handled in Anambra while the other was the Ochacho carnival in Benue State. He said the two events were tasking as he strived the feed a combined population of more than 8,000 people. “The biggest business I’ve handled was in Anambra. I went for a burial. I was hired for three days. However I was restricted to the VIP section while other people took care of the rest of the crowd. They bought all the animals and everything. I was paid a huge sum of money for my services. We were grilling 24 hours for three days. ” Bright however declined to mention the name of the person that hired him. The second event was the Ochacho carnival in Benue State. It was very big because I grilled for 5,000 people. And I’m the first ever in Nigeria to achieve that feat. I am proud to say I am the first ever in Nigeria. Bright jokingly added that he deserves a place in the Guinness World Record. He said that at the carnival, his team grilled for 5,000 people and it lasted for one week. Bright admitted that at times he can be selective in functions he accepts to showcase his trade, according to him, people invite me a lot, but when I see the payment does not worth what I need to do, I will politely turn it down. He disclosed that though he has not done any job for government at any level, he has done jobs for top government functionaries in their individual capacities.
Feed the Body that works the Money Slogan
The sign-off for Bright Grills Global is feed the body that works the money. How did he come about that catchy sign-off? “Well, the slogan came in one day around 4 a.m. I woke up in the morning when I was struggling to build my brand in Nigeria. A lot of people give value to drinks more than food. Whereas food is more healthy for consumption than drinks. Because I knew people, if you give them fish, at the cost of N5,000, they will tell you that it is very expensive.
But they can buy a bottle of drink for N150,000. That whiskey will only help to destroy them. So, I was thinking of the word I can use to convince people to know the value of giving themselves the best after a stressful day at work. That inspiration came in. Feed the body that works the money. So, when somebody calls me, Mr. Bright, I want fish and I tell him the price, if he complains that it is too expensive, I will simply remind him to “Feed the body that works the money”. And in most cases, they seem to agree with me on the need to place more emphasis on food for the body that works the money. That’s how everything started working for me. “
Giving back to society
For Bright, he owes his modest success to God and thus, strives to reach out to humanity as a way of appreciating God for His kindness towards him. However, he does not go to the rooftops to do so as according to him, when God is blessing me, he blesses me in secret and nobody knows when God is blessing me. So, I do not post where I do charity on the social media. For now, Bright does not have a Foundation, but plans are underway to float one. However, Bright once in a while uses his social media reach to help in touching lives. “Sometimes, when I see people struggling or see something that is touching, I will investigate. I can even call on video to confirm if it’s real, I will post it, and through my media platform, people contribute money to help those people, that is one of the ways I reach out to humanity.
Bright Grill Headquarters is Loading
Determined to consolidate on its market share, Bright is intensifying efforts to move into his corporate headquarters sometime soon. He said that he is not happy that he is operating from a rented space. Do you intend to continue in this place? He said that having a space exclusive to Bright Grillzz will offer him to own both the grill and the bar as well as other additional services he can render to his clients. He regretted that as at the moment, he does not have the “opportunity to make use of the bar. And I bring the crowd coming to this place”.
He noted that when he moves to his own space, “when my clients come, if they eat from me and drink from me, I will make double profit. So, that is one of the reasons why I am doing every effort to make my own place available”.
Parting words to customers and youths
An elated Bright beaming with smiles said that no day passes without me saying a word of prayer to God to bless and continuously protect all his clients across the country and beyond. “I want to appreciate the country Nigeria and Nigerians. I came to Nigeria. They accept me as their own. They patronize me, and they promote me. If you check all my staff, I don’t have any Cameroonian among them. So I appreciate them so much, I love them, and I thank them for patronizing us always. To the youths, Bright counsels them to aspire to go far rather than going fast. “So my advice to the youth always, is that they should learn to go far, not fast. If I wanted to go fast, I think by now I would have been down, because I’ve seen it all on the street. I saw the bad, I saw the good, I saw the ugly. But I choose the good, going gradually, because I know I must go to the top. But when you rush it, you get cut off on the road”.
