After years on the periphery, West African and Nigerian food is recognised worldwide as a global cuisine. Nigerian chefs are elevating the country’s food to Michelin-star level in cities such as London and New York. Daniel Neilson speaks to the chefs and critics celebrating the food of West Africa.
Akoko sits in Fitzrovia in central London among five-star hotels and by-appointment shopping experiences. Inside, the decor is earthy, relaxed, and undeniably luxurious. But then look at the tasting menu: jollof rice, suya, ayamase, fish yassa, pepper soup. This is Nigerian food, but the menu also hints at the level of the food. The jollof is made with A5 Wagyu beer, shito XO, and purple carrot. The fish yassa uses Cornish crab and blue mussels. The tatale comes with caviar. Nigerian food. Not Nigerian food.
“We describe it as modern, innovative West African food,” says Akoko and Akara founder Aji Akokomi. “It’s about understanding the techniques, flavours, and ingredients that come together. We also have to consider the history and stories, and we have had to be creative, for instance, when it comes to snacks and desserts. In part, the main meals are traditional, telling the story of the recipes that have been handed to us.
Local ingredients, global techniques
The ethos of the restaurant resonates from the streets of Lagos. Many of the dishes are cooked over fire, blending the infused smokiness with the spices of Africa. Yet, most of the ingredients are purposefully sourced from the UK.
“I think that’s really important because it’s a West African restaurant in England. Everything everyone is doing is local now. We use the best ingredients that are local to us. There is goat in Africa, there is goat in England. There is good beef in Africa; there is exceptional beef in England. It’s just understanding the ethos in Africa, where you know the farmer, the people in the market, and all your suppliers.
“We know where all the things we use in the restaurant have come from. We use seasonal produce. And we know the best farmers. We then use all this to create West African food. We do that through technique, the creation of the flavour, and some ingredients that can travel, for instance, the dried beans and the spices, but with really fresh ingredients.”
It echoes our interview in this edition with Nigerian-born Adejoké Bakare, who recently won a Michelin Star for her restaurant Chishuru in London, becoming the first Black woman in the UK to do so.
“I wanted to make Nigerian food more modern, but the flavours are still what they should be. If a dish requires one of the fermented spices, such as irú or dawadawa, these are the flavours at the heart of the dish itself. I never want to lose sight of that.”
A glance at the Chishuru menu also highlights this. To make Gizdodo, she slow-cooks an ox tongue and serves it with caramelised plantain, red pepper, and anchovy dressing. The egusi elefo uses charcoal-grilled cauliflower, seed crumb, brown butter, wild watermelon seeds, and efo riro.
“We’re using more seasonal British produce, but we’re getting to the heart of Nigerian food. The food is authentic, or what my version of authenticity is.”
From pop-up to fine dining
Across the Atlantic, in Brooklyn, New York, Dept of Culture was born from a pop-up dinner series hosted by Ayo Balogun of the Council Cafe. Today, this small restaurant serves a tasting menu from North-Central Nigeria, again taking the classic Nigeria food and turning it into fine dining.
The renowned Senegal-born chef and author, Pierre Thiam, opened Teranga in the Africa Centre in Harlem with a mission to share African culture through food. Here, you’ll find Ethiopian-brewed coffee, a bowl of Senegalese black-eyed pea stew, and a side of Ghanaian plantains. African superfood is what they call it.
Up in Vancouver, Canada, Arike was named after Chef Sam Olayinka’s Nigerian grandmother. The ethos is to take local Pacific Northwest products and combine them with the herbs, spices, and flavour combinations you find in Africa. In Paris, self-taught chef Georgiana Viou from Benin earned a Michelin star for her restaurant Rogue. So did Mory Sacko of Malian and Senegalese descent, whose two restaurants, MoSuke and MoSugo, have won him dozens of plaudits.
Back in London, I asked Aji Akokomi whether it had always been the aim to have a Michelin-starred restaurant.
“Yes, it was. I envisioned it being a West African restaurant here in central London, and I was quite adamant about that. I knew it would have excellent service and should be on par with other fine-dining restaurants. That was important to me.
“When we were thinking about this five years ago, there were Nigerian restaurants, but service wasn’t something they prioritised. I worked with some hospitality consultants and went to all sorts of West African and African restaurants. They catered to only Nigerians, or a Ghanaian spot was just for Ghanaians.
“Whereas I wanted it to be international and to introduce West African culture and, of course, West African cuisine to the world. So I wanted it to be in a place where the service and food were of high quality. And then, yes, we did want to attract attention and critical acclaim. And that’s exactly what happened.”
A culinary triumph
The reception from Nigerians and other West Africans has been heartwarming, Akokomi said. As such, he is focusing on what the West African palate craves: flavour.
“Most of them have loved it. What West Africans want is flavour. They want to be full, and they want something delicious. We try not to compromise on that, to showcase that flavour. We’re just all about flavour. And I think that’s what the world wants to see. It’s the flavour from spices, heat, umami, and wood, and putting all that together.”
That is, after all, the tastes and aromas of Lagos, Accra, Abuja, and Abidjan. And what of the food in Lagos itself? We’ll be exploring the best food in the country in upcoming issues of Life magazine, but take a look at the dishes chef-owner Obehi Ekhomu is making at The Ona, Victoria Island. She also uses traditional techniques used in African cooking, such as fermentation, drying, salting, and smoking, to add huge amounts of flavour and serve cocktails using African spirits such as ogogoro and palm wine.
NOK, similarly, is an essential visit for foodies in Lagos. Don’t leave, some say, without trying the ewa agoyin and amala. And then there’s Ìtàn Test Kitchen in Ikoyi, established by chef Michael Elégbèdé, who, with his team, aims to rediscover and reimagine Nigerian ingredients to make ‘remarkable eating experiences’.
From abroad and within Nigeria, the diverse range of food has found a new audience who has fallen in love with West African flavours, techniques and dishes. Across London and New York, Paris and Vancouver, you’ll find West African pop-ups and street stalls, restaurants and events. West African food is no longer a trend. Like Indian food and Chinese food, French food, and Italian food, it’s entered the vocabulary.
“Let’s get West African tonight.”
