Last September, 24-year-old Lopè Ariyo, went from being an undergraduate with a food blog, to an author whose first book, Hibiscus, due out in June, may change the way British people see Nigerian food.
Ariyo was in final year when she heard about a competition to find a cook who would “break an African cuisine into the home kitchens of the UK” – due to the lack of diversity in British cookery writing.
Ariyo sent in an application and was called in to cook alongside four other finalists representing North, East, South and Central Africa.
Obviously her Nigerian cuisine – sticky-sweet hibiscus chicken and jollof cauliflower rice – won and she landed a book deal with one of the world’s largest publishing companies, HarperCollins.
Speaking about why they chose Ariyo, one of the judges, Pip McCormac, said:
“She jumped out instantly. Her recipes seemed really approachable – interesting and exciting but not beyond the realm of comprehension.”Growing up in the UK, her love for Nigerian food developed when she went to boarding school in Lagos and got a proper taste of glorious Nigerian meals like jollof rice, pounded yam and egusi soup.
Returning to London two years later, she craved the food she’d left behind and set about recreating it at home – improvising with whatever was available.
Well, it looks like it all worked out in the end, because with Lopè Ariyo’s accessible take on Nigerian cuisine, British people might finally be able to enjoy the glory of jollof rice (not your’s, Jamie Oliver) LOL :D
Source: Konbini
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