Being African is extraordinary, especially when one considers the depth of meaning of people’s names and the intentions behind them. Each name is like a prophecy spoken over one’s life every time it is uttered. Take, for instance, Adejoké Bakare; in Yoruba, Ajoke means “the one to be celebrated”, with the prefix “ade” signifying royalty. The combined meaning is “the one with a crown who’s going to be feted.”
Adejoké embodies the regal essence of her name, especially with the recognition of a Michelin star, which made her the UK’s first Black female chef and the world’s second to achieve this honour, bringing the essence of African – more specifically Nigerian – culinary heritage to the global forefront. With women comprising less than 25 percent of professional chefs, and only six percent in leading Michelin-starred restaurants, Adejoké is breaking barriers and redefining culinary excellence. She’s even been described as “one of the most blisteringly gifted and original chefs in the city” by journalist Jimi Famurewa in the Evening Standard.
Her restaurant name, Chishuru, also has a significant denotation, meaning ‘to eat silently’. Less literally, it refers to the silence that falls over the table when the food is so good nobody wants to speak. I had the privilege of delving into Adejoke’s insightful perspective on African symbolism, the essence of luxury, and the absorbing journey of her career.
TELL US THE STORY BEHIND CHISHURU’S LOGO… I designed the logo myself. It’s three Nsibidi characters, each denoting water. Nsibidi is a system of proto-writing [like hieroglyphics] developed by the Ekpe secret society from south-east Nigeria. The logo means three waters, symbolising the way I’m using Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa culinary traditions in my kitchen.
YOUR WEBSITE SAYS CHISHURU IS “NOT A FINE-DINING RESTAURANT”. CAN YOU ELABORATE ON THIS? My ambition was always that Chishuru should feel homely and welcoming – so many of the traditions of fine dining run against that. Also, since winning our Michelin star, we’ve had a small number of customers coming in with strange expectations – that we shouldn’t play background music, or there should be a sta ff member constantly topping up your wine and water. Michelin recognised some years ago that you can get great food in informal settings, and you don’t need to have linen tablecloths or a man in a golden grapes badge upselling you on wine to get a star.
WHERE DO YOU GET THE INSPIRATION FOR YOUR DISHES? I was born and raised in Nigeria, but there’s no such thing as ‘Nigerian cuisine’ – it’s a huge country with many people and culinary traditions that cross borders. For example, you’re more likely to find some northern Nigerian dishes in northern Ghana than southern Nigeria. My parents are Yoruba and Igbo respectively, and I grew up in a Hausa area. At Chishuru, you see elements of all those culinary traditions on our menu.
WOULD YOU SAY YOUR FOOD IS AUTHENTICALLY NIGERIAN? I’m not setting out to create an authentic version of the food of my heritage. I’m just trying to present a version of the dish in a London context with the right presentation and professional cooking techniques. I describe myself as ‘a Londoner by way of Nigeria’, and I guess my food reflects that.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE DISH TO PREPARE? One dish that I’ve been making since the beginning is ekuru. It’s a wild watermelon seed cake, topped with a pumpkin seed pesto and served with Scotch bonnet sauce. Like a lot of my food, it’s a little London twist on a dish from my childhood.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR WINE SELECTION PROCESS… My food often has intense flavours, so we identified quite early on that wines with freshness and aromatic intensity would work best. High tannin and high acid wines don’t work, nor do wines with lots of evidence of oak. Wines with age and lots of tertiary characteristics don’t complement the food, which is why you won’t see anything older than about six years on our wine list. We focus solely on French wines, and we’re the only restaurant in London serving a romorantin by the glass. We have a loin de l’oeil, three savagnins, and two Savennières on the list. We come back more and more to the Loire and the Jura regions. The list is entirely natural, but you’d never know. We’re particularly proud of Pierrick Bouley’s Volnay, which is about as natural as you can get, and shows just how good you have to be to make a delicate and precise wine without chemicals.
WHAT IS LUXURY TO YOU? To Yorubans there are di fferent definitions of wealth, and one of them is wealth in the sense of community and family. That’s what luxury feels like to me: to be surrounded by friends, family, and supporters.
WHAT’S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST OBSTACLE? London landlords were not interested in having a West African restaurant in their premises. We were flatly refused sites we wanted, and for a while with our current site, it looked like the deal would fall through and we’d lose everything. Summer in 2023 was very challenging indeed! The answer was persistence and self-belief. I just refused to give up.
YOU’RE THE FIRST BLACK FEMALE CHEF IN THE UK AND SECOND IN THE WORLD TO RECEIVE A MICHELIN STAR. HOW SIGNIFICANT IS THIS TO YOU? You can’t be what you can’t see. I hope my star inspires others to put themselves forward.
