Chef Imelda’s recipe for turning skills into opportunity

KUALA LUMPUR: For chef Imelda Harris, a recipe can be more than something to serve at the dinner table – it can also be the starting point for a small business.

After more than two decades working as a food consultant, the Sarawak-born former MasterChef Malaysia contestant now wants to help more women – particularly homemakers, single mothers and those from lower-income households – turn their cooking skills into a source of income.

“People often regard cooking as just an ordinary task, when in fact there is so much more we can achieve. From recipes created in the kitchen, we can build a business, produce books and even travel abroad,” she told Bernama.

Imelda believes food businesses need not begin with expensive equipment, large premises or substantial capital. For many women, she said, the first step can be as simple as working with what they already have at home.

“I want to open women’s eyes to the fact that the culinary field can take us far,” she added. “I want to train them to generate an income from home, even with minimal capital.”

Her belief has been reinforced by her experience mentoring more than 1,000 members of the Armed Forces Family Welfare Association. Imelda saw how practical training in areas such as costing, preparation and small-scale food production could help women become more confident about earning independently.

A home-based food business, she noted, can help supplement household income while giving women a stronger sense of financial independence.

For her, the appeal of food lies partly in its accessibility. Cooking is already part of daily life for many families, which means some of the skills needed to start a small venture may already exist.

The challenge lies in recognising their value and learning how to turn them into something sustainable.

Imelda was recently among 26 recipients honoured at the Anugerah Wanita Ikon Negeri 2026/2027, organised by Kelab Wanita Ikon Malaysia with support from the women, family and community development ministry.

Apart from her culinary work, Imelda is looking at ways to support rural schoolchildren, particularly in Sarawak, by helping them build confidence as they move into unfamiliar academic environments.

As a former student of Maktab Rendah Sains Mara, she remembers how intimidating that transition can be.

“Many rural children feel they have done well at their previous school, but when they enter a boarding school or university, they begin to feel inferior and that they are not good enough,” she said.

“That is why we need to nurture their confidence from an early age.”

The same idea runs through much of her work with women: opportunity often begins with believing that existing skills have value.

“Opportunities do not just come along for us,” Imelda stressed. “We have to create them ourselves.”

For someone considering a food business from home, this could mean testing a recipe, learning how to price it, selling to a small circle of customers and building from there.

Imelda’s advice is simple: start before everything feels perfect.

“You cannot say no until you have tried. Do not be afraid to take that first step because if an attempt does not work out, it does not mean that we have failed forever.”