About

Ongeipi, I’m so glad you are here. My name is Ester. I was born and raised in Namibia, but now residing in Germany with my husband and our daughters.

I started this food blog in 2018 a couple of months after becoming a mum for the first time as a hobby, with the aim to share family favorite recipes from around the world. Even though I mainly post authentic Namibian and German recipes.

My background

I grew up in a village in the northern part of Namibia. At a young age I learned cooking traditional Namibian dishes such as Oshifima, Oshingali, Fat cakes and Marathon Chicken with freshly homemade Marula oil, from my mother, my both grandmothers and aunts. And this is how I felt in love with cooking.

Even back then my relatives used to rave about my food. I remember when I was at boarding school, every time I went home for the weekend for instance, my cousin Kondja was always telling me how much he missed my food.

In my early 20s, after bachelor’s degree in geology and working for a couple of months, I received a scholarship to further my studies in Germany.

And this is how I left my home country for the first time, got on the plane, and came to Germany.

When I came to Germany, I wanted to finish my studies as quickly as possible and return home. But then I met my now-husband (back then my boyfriend), Jo. So I decided to stay. Sorry, Mum.

My mum was not amused at all because, in my culture, having a boyfriend and especially living together without being married is considered unacceptable. For my typical African, strong-willed mum, this decision was seen as a rejection and a significant act of disobedience, even though I was already 25 years old. But over time, she accepted my decision. She was even over the moon when we got married in Namibia.

After my studies I moved to Bavaria, where I learned how to make authentic Bavarian dishes from my mum in law Beate, who is by the way an amazing cook and baker.

Thus why the hands you see in most of the German recipes on this blog like here and here belong to her.

What to expect from this blog

On this blog you’ll find delicious and easy-to-follow recipes with photos, from busy-day dinner, Sunday roasts, cakes, drinks to DIY.

A little more about me..

• In 2018, I participated in the German version of Come Dine With Me, called, called das Perfekte Dinner, and in 2019, I appeared on the parenting TV show Mein Kind Dein Kind.
• I also had the honor of representing my home country, Namibia, at two international beauty contests: Miss Supranational 2012 and Miss Princess of the World 2014.
• When my husband and I went on a one-month honeymoon to Thailand, I took a Thai cooking class in Chiang Rai, in northern Thailand, which was a wonderful culinary experience.
• In my free time, I sing in a choir, teach cooking classes at the local adult education center, enjoy Zumba, and volunteer for our Namibia association, Kwafa Namibia e.V., which is dedicated to improving the condition of schools in my hometown in Namibia. We are currently running a crowdfunding campaign to replace the corrugated iron classrooms with stable and safe buildings, providing the children with the learning environment they truly deserve. I’d be so grateful if you could support this cause – every donation counts!
• or I go running. I discovered my love for running only 8 years ago in Germany. Back then, I read in the newspaper that an 8km race was taking place that very day. I also took part in a half marathon, even though I had only trained for a 10km run.
• It took me 5 months to learn German from basic (A1) to fluent (C1/C2) after completing my master’s degree in Environmental and Resource Management.
• I only go out to eat when the food is really good. Yes I am a foodie, so much so that I travel for food.
• And by the way, Ester kocht simply means Ester cooks in German.

Note on Crowdfunding:
With your support, we can make a real difference for the children in Ehafo. Click here to learn more and donate: Help us build stable classrooms for Ehafo, Namibia.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions!