Bodybuilder unlocks potential in clean food

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KUCHING: For Mohd Shakira Joto, being a bodybuilder requires him to watch his weight all the time.

The freshly-prepared food packed and ready to be delivered to customers.

(From left) Shakira and business partner Mohammad Nizam attending to customers at KCF stall during a bodybuilding event at Summermall last month.

As a sportsman, Shakira wants to dispel the wrong thinking that a diet means not eating at all, when in fact it urges one to eat regularly but within control.

As far as he is concerned, diet plays a crucial part when it comes to sculpting a physique worthy of admiration.

“You can undergo the most rigorous training in the world but if your eating habits are horrible, no amount of weight-lifting can produce that chiselled body you desire,” the former Mr Sarawak Novice Under-70kg champion told The Borneo Post here recently.

It was with this mindset that the 31-year-old came up with Kuching Clean Food (KCF), an operation that prepares and delivers healthy dishes to customers throughout the city.

Although not exactly a novel concept, Shakira believed the venture – founded by him and his wife Shifa Naroden – would work, given that there was yet any business undertaking this line of health and fitness industry here.

“Some sell supplements while several others offer gym equipment. KCF, on the other hand, addresses the most important part of any training regimen, which is food. Being an athlete myself, this business reflects my interest in fitness and bodybuilding.

“Plus, I love to cook and eat,” the father-of-one said, adding that the enterprise also aimed to pay heed to the call by government on addressing obesity.

“Look around us. There are so many fast-food restaurants selling unhealthy items that may be cheap and convenient, but are detrimental to our health in the long run.

“That is why the government wants at least 30 per cent of Malaysians to be active in sports and practise good eating habits.

“In this regard, we want to lead the way,” he said.

Shakira said while the idea had been in his mind for quite some time, its materialisation came about just this year.

“I met up with my business partner, Mohammad Nizam Abarahim – who like myself, loves food and cooking – during Hari Raya this year. We talked about KCF and later on, planned the menu alongside its pricing.

“Then on August 28, our venture was born. Although the menu range for now is still not that many, we are doing this to gauge the reception to our offerings. We also market KCF through our Facebook page.

“So far, things have been encouraging. We even have doctors and surgeons becoming our customers,” he enthused.

Eating clean did not mean eating expensive, he said, noting that KCF’s menu lists the basic food groups comprising meat, poultry, fish, seafood, starches and vegetables with prices ranging as low as RM6.90 to RM16.90.

“It’s about the same amount of money you spend for lunch or dinner, but with better portion control and the right amount of protein, carbs, fibre, vitamins and minerals.

“Even our condiments are all natural, consisting of virgin olive oil, rock salt as well as the creative use of herbs and spices instead of MSG (monosodium glutamate).”

As a sportsman, Shakira also wanted to dispel the notion that a diet meant not eating at all, when in fact it urged one to eat regularly within control.

“By not eating the amount you’re supposed to, you are depriving your body of the nutrients it needs to function optimally. This is the philosophy of KCF that we want to share with our customers,” he added.

Going forward, the team plans to open an outlet near Satok, by next January. At the moment, the business is still home-based and pre-purchased orders are either delivered directly to customers, or sent to Kuching Supplements store in Petanak as the pick-up point.

“We have a goodwill agreement with Kuching Supplements on this, as we find that demands have been picking up. Once our Satok outlet is running, we will have a wider variety consisting of main dishes, snacks and beverages.

“By then, hopefully, we would already have established our customer base,” Shakira said, adding that KCF recently bagged a contract to supply healthy food to participants of the ongoing ‘Jom Kurus’ (Let’s Lose Weight) programme hosted by the country’s renowned fitness guru Kevin Zahri.

He said the deal would help in KCF managing the catering side of the operations.

“Our new outlet will also cater for outside functions and supply, just like other food businesses – the only difference is that we provide healthy food.

“I believe we can do it, seeing that the market potential is huge in Kuching,” he enthused.