‘I’m Passionate About Food and Cooking’- Michael Elegbede

Michael Elegbede travelled to the United States of America to study medicine. But after his pre-medicine studies at the University of Illinois, Chicago, he gave them up to become a chef. Though he said his decision shocked his parents who wanted him to become a medical doctor, Elegbede told Peter Uzoho that he has no regrets over his decision.

You are an up and coming chef, how did you learn how to cook?

I’m a chef in Nigeria. I just returned back to Nigeria about two months ago after 13 years in the United States of America, to really focus on Nigerian food and cuisine. And my background in food is rooted in my upbringing; my grandmother and my mother are both cooks. My grandmother studied culinary arts during the colonisation of Nigeria from a French chef that resided in Nigeria at the time. My mother naturally learnt how to cook from my grandmother and she became a cook. When she got to the United States of America, she went to the Le Cordon Blue to get her culinary degree as a pastry chef.

It’s no surprise that I became a chef as well. However, it didn’t begin that way. My parents won a visa lottery to the United States of America and they left my brother and I with my grandmother while they went to settle down there. We spent about eight years with my grandmother and during that time, I had the opportunity to learn about food and cooking and fall in love with cooking with my grandmother without really knowing that was what I was going to be doing for the rest of my life.

Eventually, we moved to the States when I was 13 to meet my parents. At that point, I had no perception of becoming a chef. I went to high school, and when I finished, I attended college at the University of Illinois, Chicago, to study pre-medicine because I was good in sciences. Naturally, this automatically meant I was going to be a doctor. So after my years doing undergrad in pre-medicine, I realised that this cooking is more than just a hobby, it’s something that I want to do for the rest of my life. So I enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America in Greystone Napa Valley, CA which is said to be the Harvard of culinary schools in America. There, I experienced a completely different way of cooking; a very personal and in-depth way of understanding food. Food and cooking became more than what I did to fill the stomach of hungry folks, but a holistic phenomenon that is capable of communicating to all the senses, insinuate memories, inspire artistically, and natural.

During school I had the opportunity to do my internship at Eleven Madison Park Restaurant in New York and upon completion of culinary school; I got hired to be a full time chef. Eleven Madison Park being a three Michelin star restaurant, as well as the fourth best restaurant in the world, instilled in me standards that are necessary to cook food in a beautiful and philosophical way. It was a struggle being alone in the kitchen, the only black man at the time and more so the only African in the kitchen, I felt out of place. But the more I came in there every day, the more I fall in love with what I was cooking. And I knew I was there for a reason and my reason was to learn, and I just kept pushing and kept doing everything I was supposed to do.

Sooner or later, I became part of the team. The farther I moved up the ladder, the better I understood what it meant to cook at such a high level. There came a point in my career where I was like, I love what I’m doing but there is something missing. And I realised that for me it means my foundation in food which is Nigerian food. My foundation, was falling in love with food with my grandmother and my mother.

And I realised that somehow, I have to incorporate my background with my new found love with culinary art. To do that, I have to really rethink what it means to cook Nigerian food. And rethinking what it means to cook Nigerian food is really, completely wiping it off the plate and redoing the plate. What that meant to me was re-envisioning what it means to eat eba, what it means to eat amala, what it means to experience bole or suya, and in the way that I now understand cuisine and how food can be cooked .

Through that I started this testing menu series in New York, where I would do a seven to eight course testing menu that people would pay a certain amount and they would come and eat different courses that are Nigerian-inspired, like a corn dish that has popcorn or steamed corn; like just bringing in the cuisine to the people. And people fall in love with it. People experienced Nigerian food in the way they’ve never experienced any African dish before because they were able to see that food is not just spice and starch on a plate; that there are so many other flavours and complexities to our food. After doing this for a while, there was still a longing to do it.

I felt that, it was important for me to do it for our own people, not for anyone else. Not for what the international community thought of us. And I want to cook Nigerian food for Nigerians in the way that they can be inspired. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Nigerian prose writer, I watched her talk “I care more about what Africans think about Africa than what anyone else thinks of Africa.” That was very inspiring for me. So I realised that it was time for me to come back to Nigeria to see what it means to make this idea come to reality and that seed is now fruiting a restaurant that is here in Nigeria called ‘Itan’. Itan means story in Yoruba.

So the idea is that, this restaurant tells the story of the Nigerian people; the culture, the diverse ethnic groups, the extent of our produce, our sea food. A lot of things that are embedded and integrated inside Nigeria. Things that are real to our culture. We have over 320 ethnic groups, with very diverse techniques to food and food is one thing I believe brings everyone together. I want this restaurant to embody a cradle aspect of that.

When are you going to open the Itan Restaurant to the public?

We’re hoping to open the restaurant in the middle of next year and it’s going to be located in Victoria Island, Lagos.

How spacious is the restaurant and what is the staff strength?

It’s not a small place, but it’s not a giant place either. We’re planning to have about 50 seats at any given time people come into the place. For the staff strength, we’re going to have about 15 to 20 people maximum in the kitchen, and 15 to 20 people outside dining area as well, making it 40 people that will be working in the restaurant at any given time.

At what age did you start cooking?

When I was very young and from that moment I started peeling potatoes for meat pie when I was less than five years old, when I started watching my mother cook food. Both my mother and my grandmother owned a restaurant here in Nigeria.

They also had structures where they taught young women apprenticeship in Nigeria; where there was a caterer teaching people how to cook. My grandmother had cooking school that graduated up to 60 people at a time in Aguda, and every time there would be a new set of students coming in to learn how to cook, how to bake, I would like to go into the kitchen; I would try showing them some techniques. I would like to correct them. I would be like, that’s not how to roll a meat pie, and they were like, what does this little boy know. I think just being in that environment really inspired my love for cooking without really knowing it. If anyone had asked me even when I was 13, if I was going to be a chef, I would have been like, of course not. But that’s just what I love to do. As a male coming from Nigeria, the idea of a man cooking in the kitchen as a career is not something that can be easily understood. I think I fall in love with cooking before I even thought it would be a career.

What is your best delicacy?

I love pounded yam and egusi soup with some fresh foods like croaker fish or prawns.

You talked about leaving Nigeria for the US and that your parents wanted you to study medicine but you ended up becoming a chef. How did they take your decision?

Shocking! To my mum, not much because she had a restaurant in Chicago as well. Every time, after school in High school, I was at the restaurant cooking. I was the chief cook in the restaurant. The name of the restaurant is Jumidell Restaurant. It was an award-winning restaurant. And telling my father was the hardest because it’s hard for a Nigerian man to see his first son say he wants to be a cook and he was like, how are you going to be happy in life. You should just go to medical school, become a doctor, may be you can then open a restaurant. I was like what is the point. Why should I go to medical school, become a medical doctor and after that I open a restaurant. Why will I go to medical school, then become a doctor, after that, I open a restaurant. And he was like, what are you going to tell your friends in Nigeria. He took it as such a shameful thing for me to do.

But for me it was more like, how can something I love so much be bad. He left me to finish that decision and for my mother, once she realised that that was what I wanted that will make me happy in life she gave me her full support.

No matter what anyone says, I feel that we all have a calling in life and the meaning of life is finding that calling and hopefully using that calling to impact the world around you. For me, food is that calling that I find myself to be passionate about. And in everything that I do, I’m hoping to use this my love to impact my world, which is another reason why I’m here in Nigeria. I think Nigerian food is being underrated. I could cook and be in love with food anyway. That’s not a problem, but how can I do it without being meaningful and impactful in this life that I’m living. That’s one of the reasons why I’m here. I have no regrets over my decision.

Recently, you participated in the Guarantee Trust Bank food and drink fair in Lagos. Can you tell us about the food fair?

It was a great experience. I was the keynote speaker in the event where I got to demonstrate a dish to a group of people and it was very exciting. The other exciting part was where I had Itan Restaurant featured in the event and everyone seemed to see how the restaurant would be. It was very exciting for me.

We had some cassava chips for people to taste and it was funny. People started arguing with us that the cassava chips were not cassava chips; that there had to be some other vegetable. That was because, the only way they’ve ever had cassava was in fufu or in any other form of pounded starch way. So when they saw it as a chip and they found that it was sweet. They were like there is no way this can be cassava.

It was also exciting to see how they interacted with the dishes and how they found it very exciting, and they were like, oh! My God, this is Nigerian food and it looked so beautiful. It’s not just a pounded meal and stew. There is much more to it, it’s beautiful, it’s autistic and it inspires. So it was quite exciting.

What kind of food did you cook?

We had a five course tasting menu where we had our first course as avocado pear with plantain and cassava chips, with Hibiscuspikled, onions, and slices of tomatoes. Then, in the second course, we had mango pawpaw salad with candid cashew, agbalumovinaigrette and citrus segment.

Then after that, we had prawn. It was very exciting because prawn and pepper soup fit together. So we were thinking of how pepper soup can be served. A lot of time when we eat pepper soup, it’s always very spicy. So we decided that we were going do a more flavourful take on pepper soup with really delicately cooked prawn with it. We had braised lamb dish with pounded yam and egusi, which was a bit favourite for most people. That was what we gave them at the GT Bank event and it was quite exciting.

You are invited as one of the keynote speaker to this year’s International Food Design Conference taking place New Zealand. What is it all about?

For the International Food Design Conference in New Zealand, it’s where food designers from around the world are invited to come and talk about the progress of food and I’m privileged to be one of the keynote speakers at this year’s event. It’s a big day to me because I’m the first and the best person to keynote this event. I’m proud to be the first African and more proud to be the first Nigerian to be invited as a keynote speaker to the event. I’m even more excited to share our food at that event, because one thing that they want to see is the fact that they don’t see African food in the culinary spotlight. But the way I’m beginning to idealise and present our food is making it more inviting and making it more experience based.

They want to understand the inspiration behind this innovation in our cuisine that I’m portraying. So I think the food revolution in Nigeria also is motivating people to want to understand what it means that Nigerians love so much about their food. Seeing what I’m doing with Nigerian food which I lectured at the Otago University, which are the people coordinating this international food design conference, they contacted me to see if I could be one of their international keynote speakers and I was very excited to be part of it.

When is the event coming up?

The event is coming up from June 29 to July 3 and I be in New Zealand from June 20 till July 8.

You talked about food revolution in Nigeria. What is your assessment of the food revolution in the country. Are we getting it right?

Yes! I think for the most part, we’re getting it right. I think we’re getting to the awareness of what we’re eating and the understanding that there is so much to food than just eba and the starches. We’re diversifying what we eat and realising that food can become more than just eating events; when you’re hungry, you just stuff your face with food. We’re realising that you can actually be creative with food. I’m seeing a lot of events where people are eating food as arts, using food as a means of interaction and it’s such a base to our core.

As humans we need food to live and seeing the revolution in Nigeria, taking it to what we are typically taking it to be useful and elevate the sense. We are understanding that it’s important that we eat less imported food and more food that is grown in Nigeria, because it’s not only good for us but also good for our economy and the more we appreciate the food here and the produce here the better it is for our country. Understanding the techniques to diversify how to use those ingredients is also important for us not to be bored with food. So I’m really excited and proud of the food revolution in Nigeria.

What is your assessment of hotels and restaurants in Nigeria in terms of meeting international standards?

I think there is a big movement for finer dining in Nigeria. Even in the more local dining and eating, you see a better sense of service. You go to a restaurant in Victoria Island and you see them having really standardised and well put together restaurants where people can go into and eat. They serve very well and many are using more inspirational food in their menu.

What I would like see more is more focus on our traditional food in the restaurants. You go to the classiest and finest restaurants; you see that a lot of them are trying to bring international food more here in Nigeria, which is good. One thing I like about New York is that it is the epicentre of cuisines all over the world. I believe Nigeria, Lagos specifically has the platform to be the epicentre of food from so many different places in Africa and even other places in the world. But, one thing that we have to do before we know everyone else is that it’s important we know ourselves before we know anyone else. So I see really amazing things happening in the restaurants from the amala booker to the finest dining places in Victoria Island.

I think we’re growing in our understanding of the ingredients we are using and the ones we are not using. We are not using MSG again as much anymore and that’s something that everyone has to feel like this is bad for my health, I won’t accept from eating anywhere than eating at home. So that awareness I think is being driven by restaurants as well. So I ‘m seeing a lot of great things in the restaurants in Nigeria and I see a brighter future for our country.

You talked about going into cooking and how people will perceive it, when you came back to Nigeria how did your friends receive you?

Oh! With joy, with so much support. I don’t think I was surprised. Nigeria is a very accepting place. You see the best makeup artists now in Nigeria. So many men are into fashion and are being accepted, admired for that. Things that are typically, seemingly feminine in our culture, are now things that men can do and they are okay.

So coming into Nigeria, especially, with my knowledge internationally, it was easy. Because, they were like, what have you brought for us? I brought cooking techniques for us to learn. It was very warming and inviting. My family were very supportive and my friends very excited and asking me when I would come to cook for them. It’s been great; I have zero negative reaction for what I do.

With your experience and your knowledge in cooking, are you in the nearest future thinking of setting up a training centre where you can train the younger ones?

In the future hopefully in Nigeria, I also plan having a restaurant that the kitchen can be a place for training people who are passionate about cooking and about food. They can come through and learn the details that hopefully, inspire a high level knowledge about food through that channel.

You know food and agriculture have a link, the present government at the national level has said agriculture is the way to go. Are we really there?

I think we’re getting there. I think what is important is that we continue to push agriculture, because over the years, we’ve really depleted in our internal produce when it comes to agriculture. Apart from just growing base, we need more infrastructures, a better processing of those things that we are producing and better ways of transporting them. This is where people like me come in; better ways of utilising them. For instance, in Otupo, Benue State, there are mango trees everywhere. We shouldn’t be wasting so much food. But the bad part is that there are insufficient ways of using food in Nigeria. So this is the part where we can work with the agricultural sector to diversify the use of our produce. So it has to be more than yes, let everyone move into agriculture to grow more food. There has to be diversified ways of using those foods grown.

What is your message to Nigerians especially to youths?

I think it’s time for we young ones to really look at the things that we love to do; the things that nothing will stop you from doing them; things that will help our society. Not everyone was born to become a doctor or a lawyer.

So, focus on what you love doing and finding that, invest your time, invest your everything and grow in it. Because with the state of Nigeria now, everyone is talking about diversifying our economy and what does that mean? It means that we have so many parts in the professional and business sectors that are not being accessed.

Most people focus on the five core professions, but I know farmers that are richer than bankers in the United States, because they are focused on the produce from their farms. So my biggest message will be, do what you love and do it well. Sacrifice your time, sacrifice everything you have and you can see that the future is bright. If you do it well, if you’re focused, you will make it.