Lagos Chef Michael Elegbede Shares Tips on Making Cooking Enjoyable
By: Nneji Akunne
If you’re anything like us, you’ve kept your eye on Lagos-based chef, Michael Elegbede. His ability to turn his test kitchen into a cultural immersion of mouth-watering dishes, all with a historical context made us want to dig deeper into the inspiration behind what he does. Elegbede takes a few minutes to share what he’s been up to and what’s next for ITAN Test Kitchen below.
What's the first thing you do when you wake up?
ME: “I try to take a moment to mentally prepare myself for the day. I’ve found that it helps me approach my day in a purposeful way. “
You're not just a chef and founder of ITAN, you've also created Abori, an online marketplace facilitating sustainable growth in Nigeria's food system. How do you find time to do both?
ME: “Running the ITAN Test Kitchen as well as the Abori Marketplace can be quite time-consuming but, I’ve so lucky. I’m surrounded by incredible people who make the job a lot easier like my pastry chef, Abby Williams, making the kitchen run perfectly. When it comes to Abori, co-founder Ozoz Sokoh plays a huge role in making sure everything runs well within the foundation. Recently, we launched the Abori Marketplace, an online platform for local products and produce. Zubby Emodi of Monospace was the one who created the website for us. I’ve just been really lucky with the type of people that I get to work with to make things work. “
We're all spending more time at home and some getting more acclimated with their kitchens. What's one go-to meal you've chef'd up since being at home?
ME: “I don’t think I necessarily have a go-to meal that I eat but having so much time on my hands due to the lockdown, I’ve been spending a lot of time doing recipe development for our next menu at the ITAN Test Kitchen. If there is one go-to thing that I eat at home, it’s very simple. I do a vegetable stir fry. I take the vegetables I have at home, if I do have some proteins like shrimp or chicken, I incorporate it but most of the time I have more vegetables than protein and have a little stir fry. “
Any suggestions on making cooking more enjoyable?
ME: “I enjoy myself the most when cooking when I have no restrictions and I can do whatever it is that I want. that would be my suggestion to anyone who wants to enjoy cooking more. Allow yourself to experiment with different ingredients in your pantry. things that you wouldn’t typically use in a certain dish, try it out. especially spices, we have a lot of spices to work with. allow yourself to explore the different ways that a spice can be used. I think the surprise and rediscovery of those ingredients can make cooking fun for you. “
From a creative standpoint, who or what has been your biggest inspiration?
ME: “My biggest inspiration has to be Nigeria. it inspires the food that I create and I’m almost never lacking it because of the diversity in the cultures and ethnicities and traditions that we have in the country. I’m always finding resources to inspire the work that I do. “
Favorite thing you're reading right now?
ME: “I’m currently reading a book called Gods and Heros by Oladele Olusanya. It’s a book narrating the thousand-year-old history of the Yoruba people, which is the tribe that I’m from. talks about Ile-Ife, the gods and a lot of history of our people so it’s quite interesting to me. “
Tell us a little bit about your style right now. What's your go-to uniform?
ME: “When it comes to style, I like to be very comfortable. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, where it’s hot. When I’m outside of the kitchen I like to wear things that are very comfortable. earth tones. Many times I try to incorporated traditional styles into what I eat. “