Our Story
A place for community gatherings, great conversation and amazing food
A bit about us
Skela Foods is a place for community gatherings, great conversation and amazing food!
Our History
The Jakupović family arrived in Canada with their two young children in 1993
Mirveta and her husband Fudo Jakupovic always dreamt to create a place where they could keep cultural tradition, cuisine and memories of a happier homeland alive. Fudo Jakupovic had an idea to open a deli with a place to sit so the community in Ottawa could gather and enjoy the taste of home. That is how SKELA was born.
After 17 years of tireless work, Mirveta and Fudo Jakupovic decided to retire and enjoy their life by traveling, fishing, hunting or simply spending some time with their family. After their retirement, they transferred ownership to Ilona Pap to continue their dream of keeping the homeland alive by serving the Ottawa community with the food everyone fell in love with.
Our Owner
Meet Ilona Pap, M.A.Sc.Chem. Eng., PMP, NNCP
Native of Serbia, Ilona Pap obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Pediatric Nursing in 1983. She then pursued and completed her Bachelor’s degree in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Engineering at the University of Novi Sad in 1991. After migrating to Canada with her husband and starting a family, she spent the next decade raising her two lovely boys.
In 2000, Ilona Pap decided to re-enter the workforce. In 2004, she completed her Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Statistics at the University of Ottawa. She obtained her Project Management certification (PMP) among many other professional certifications and worked for many years as a Project Manager.
She has also coordinated the new Project Management Graduate Certificate Program at Algonquin College and has taught several courses there over 7 years. Over the years, Ilona began dreaming of owning her own business. She has always been passionate about health care, nutrition and beauty, so she decided to combine these interests and venture into the field of medical aesthetics. Ilona is a certified Laser Technician and graduated from a Nutrition Program with honours in October 2016. She opened her first aesthetics business, Body ‘N’ Bloom laser and aesthetics clinic. The business is successfully operating since 2016 helping many Canadians.
Through her newest venture running Skela, she will be able to combine her passion for nutrition and serving others in the community. Ilona is a successful entrepreneur and engaging person with a quick smile and easy laugh.