- By Danae Nesta Kupemba
- BBC News
Ayo Adeyemi (L) and Aji Akokomi (R) opened Akoko in 2020
Tender, buttery, spicy beef is one of the dishes to be enjoyed by diners at an upscale West African restaurant in central London.
The thinly sliced meat is seasoned with suya, a traditional Hausa spice, grilled over firewood and served with a creamy bone marrow emulsion in a ceramic dish inspired by the late famous Nigerian potter Ladi Kwali.
It is the signature dish of the recently Michelin-starred restaurant Akoko.
A Michelin star is awarded to restaurants around the world that “offer exceptional cooking” – and Akoko is one of three head chefs of West African heritage to receive the highly sought-after and prestigious accolade in the last year alone.
“This is just the icing on the cake,” Akoko’s executive chef Ayo Adeyemi told the BBC.
Around the corner from Akoko in London’s Fitzrovia neighbourhood, another West African chef is also proud.
Adejoké Bakare made culinary history when her restaurant Chishuru was awarded a Michelin star earlier this month
Adejoké Bakare is a self-taught chef from Nigeria whose restaurant Chishuru was also awarded a Michelin star at a ceremony in Manchester earlier this month.
She made culinary history, becoming the first black woman in the UK to win a star and only the second in the world.
“People can relate to this fact that we’re sharing our heritage and people can see themselves at the table,” she told the BBC of her accolade.
Ms Bakare hopes this recognition means Michelin will “start looking at the continent”.
There is currently only one Michelin-starred restaurant in Africa – located in the city of Cape Town, South Africa.
The award, widely seen as the barometer of culinary success, has been criticized for its overwhelming bias towards restaurants with white male chefs and its lack of inclusiveness when it comes to African cuisine.
“We only look for restaurants that offer the best food regardless of category,” Michelin’s UK chief inspector, whose identity is strictly confidential, told the BBC.
“Our restaurant choices reflect the culinary diversity and evolution of the food scene,” added the inspector.
“Chishuru and Akoko are therefore an illustration of the growing diversity of London’s fine dining scene.”
One of Ayo Adeyemi’s creations – scallops served with ayamase stew and plantain chips
It is clear that jollof rice, egusi soup (made from melon seeds) and moi moi (pureed black-eyed peas) – among other traditional West African foods found on Akoko and Chishuru’s menus – have now caught the palate and Attention Michelin.
This is not just limited to UK restaurants.
Parisian restaurant MoSuke, opened by celebrity chef Mory Sacko, was awarded a Michelin star within months of opening in 2020 – inspectors in France are praising its successful fusion of its Malian and Senegalese roots with a Japanese twist.
It was the first Gallic nod to a restaurant with a predominantly West African menu.
Last year, British actor Will Poulter’s comments went viral with his criticism of the Michelin system and how foods of African origin tended to be under-represented at the food level.
The 31-year-old had just starred in the second series of hit US TV drama The Bear – about a chaotic Chicago sandwich joint run by an award-winning chef.
“There’s a huge oversight of African food and black chefs in general,” he said.
Things seem to be changing, albeit a slow process, says Georgiana Viou, a chef from Benin based in France.
“I’ve heard a lot of people say that African cuisines have no place at the culinary table,” the 46-year-old told the BBC.
But Rouge, the restaurant where he is head chef in Nîmes, southern France, was awarded a Michelin star last year.
It has a Mediterranean menu with a Beninois influence – introduced through “dja”, a traditional tomato sauce offered to all guests at the start of their meals.
This is Mrs. Viou’s way of “changing attitudes” about food from Africa.
But seeing Akoko and Chishuru “serving 100% West African” food receive a Michelin star “sends a strong message,” he says.
“I have a secret dream to open a restaurant with even more West African and Benyon cuisine.”
According to Mr Adeyemi, whose parents are originally from Nigeria, where he spent time as a child, this growing interest in West African food stems from the region’s growing global cultural dominance – think Afrobeats.
“That interest translates into food. Which is one way to experience one’s culture [other] than through food?’ asks the 34-year-old.
He goes to eat at Akoko on a culinary expedition to Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and The Gambia.
“We tell a journey and a story with food. But it’s not just the food itself,” says the chef.
Akoko’s menu is influenced by dishes cooked by his mother Ayo Adeyemi
This is a nod to the founder of Akoko Aji Akokomi. The 46-year-old Nigerian, who came to the UK in his twenties, has overseen a West African feel to the restaurant’s design – every detail is meant to reflect the cuisine.
An imposing two-tone black and brown Ghanaian drum welcomes people as they are led to their tables.
There is a large floral centerpiece of dried palm leaves and African flowers, with the restaurant’s rustic clay walls evoking the atmosphere of an African village.
For Mr Akokomi, this is all about creating a sense of “ajosepo”, which means community in the Yoruba language of Nigeria – highlighting all that “Africa has to offer”.
Both Mr. Akokomi and Mr. Ademayi set out to create a menu with their mothers and aunts in mind.
For Mr Adeyami, every spice, ingredient and dish is an ode to his mother who he said was his “first inspiration”.
He defines West African food through these three classic flavors: smoke, heat and savory umami.
Many African restaurants in London have thrived outside of the fine dining scene, such as Chuku’s, Beyoncé’s favorite in north London, or Enish – the world’s largest Nigerian franchise restaurant with branches in the UK and Dubai.
But those behind Akoko wanted to push the boundaries of what African cuisine could achieve – open it up to new customers while staying true to its roots.
“We are inspired by authentic dishes and flavors and present them in a unique way,” says Mr Ademayi. “Our food is accessible to the Western palate and recognizable to an African palate.”
Curtis McCalla, the Jamaican sous chef at Akoko, welcomes Michelin’s inclusion of African cuisine.
“It’s about time,” he says – momentarily pausing to chop as the kitchen behind bustles before lunchtime meetings.
Akoko’s team work like a well-oiled machine as the clock ticks down to noon, when soft African jazz fills the restaurant in preparation for the day’s first guests.
With the firewood burning, the Nigerian Guinness chilled by the house sommelier, the chefs in their whites gather in the stainless steel kitchen for a brief team meeting. Then everyone claps, the door opens and the party begins.