On a mission to light a lamp on a lampstand, Tola Akerele, the founder of Orishirishi Kitchen is pushing Nigerian cuisines to become a mainstream fixture on the world stage of dishes.
Her message is amplified in a blend of detailed, distinct, and rich visual presentation of the best food recipes native to different parts of Nigeria: ‘Orishirishi CookBook’.
‘Orishirishi’ is a traditional coinage rooted in the Yoruba language of the southwestern region of Nigeria that means variety. However, the variety Akerele reflects in this food lexicon is distinctly based on regions and uniquely rich in quality.
On the surface, it celebrates the diversity in culture. For instance, its cover ushers in a compelling picture of fresh okra; shelled crabs, snails, and periwinkles; dried fish and crayfish; pomo (cow skin), palm oil and scotch bonnet, triggering the imagination of its audience into flirting with interesting culinary outcomes from multiple regions.
It provides both historical background and a market path to sourcing ingredients for delicacies including native soup from the south-south; groundnut soup with bitter leaf, the north; gbegiri and ewedu, south-west; and ofe-nsala from the southeast; among others.
But deeply, it bears a rich insight into why these amazing local cuisines deserve to command the sort of attention that Italian, Chinese, Mexican, Spanish, Japanese, or American dishes do, with the earnings that follow.
African cuisines seem to be on the tail end of the spectrum or almost negligible in the race for international appeal.
In 2019, for instance, when the government of Dubai invited some journalists from Africa, Asia and Europe to see recent development in its ease of doing business, restaurants serving Lebanese, Chinese, and Western cuisines were the go-to inns, despite having four Africans on a team comprising of two Europeans and three Asians.
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The enthusiasm with which they encouraged everyone on the team to try different courses during the meals showed without a doubt that those cuisines were the most sought after in a city where 71 percent of its population are expatriates.
These highly rated cuisines are considered more impressive in hosting a diverse group of people based on their general appeal.
A 2020 rating of top 100 world-famous dishes according to 63, 402 ratings on a food map site, TasteAtlas has Nigeria missing in action as Italy’s pizza Margherita leads in the fore spot and Morocco’s tajine and Tunisia’s shakshouka follows in the 72nd and 76th positions where they stand in for Africa.
Pizza’s grip on the world is such that its popularity received an average of 84 percent across 24 markets, according to an international YouGov study of more than 25,000 people in 2018.
Where is the place of Nigeria in this market? In another rating of strictly African cuisines by TasteAtlas in which North Africa’s Couscous leads, Nigeria’s Eba (cassava flour mixed in hot water) ranks 58th out of 100, Ogbono soup stands in the 91st spot while Efo Riro (vegetable soup) ranks 93rd.
Correcting this low rating was chief among the concerns on Akerele’s mind when she conceived the idea of the cookbook.
Her eyes were on seeing that anyone interested in the Nigeria cuisines, despite their origin, can seamlessly understand how and what to do.
She clearly disagrees that Nigeria and Africa by extension have missed it as many easily conclude. Instead, she defines the gap as a huge opportunity awaiting Africa’s largest economy if it gets it right with packaging and presentation to other nationalities.
She hammers on the need for adaptability as well as finding a balance that makes the local recipes accessible without compromising the uniqueness that makes them peculiar.
“We see pockets of this in the US and UK, but mainstream access is still very limited. Our food is so diverse that there are so many amazing dishes that many would enjoy. We need to work out those dishes and present them in a way that is appealing to look at it; so you are enticed to eat it,” the author and co-founder of Bogobiri House tells BusinessDay in an exclusive interview.
“There is no reason why Jollof rice cannot become a mainstream dish for instance – just needs the right marketing. This is one of the reasons I wrote the book and invested a lot in the visuals.”
In addition to branding and adaptability which is heavily connected with the amount of creativity invested by entrepreneurs and key actors in the growth of local food industry, Akerele emphasizes on packaging and distribution as big growth areas of the supply chain.
The food has to be packaged in a way that retains its quality and freshness when it arrives its destination whether locally or out of the country, she says.
This is the stage she considers the development of the agricultural processing unit essential in order to provide consumers with the convenience they seek in living including easier ways to cook Nigerian food.
If these necessary growth actions are set in motion, she expects that this cook guide will effectively fulfil its target of serving the increasing crave for such ease in accessing the best Nigerian foods.
The book has been released to some outlets in the commercial capital of Nigeria, Lagos, with distribution agreements signed up with companies in the UK where major bookshops will begin to showcase it by January 2021.
There are equally plans afoot to distribute the guide in the US by the second quarter of next year.
“One of the goals of writing the book was to have a reference point that would make it easier to make a range of Nigerian dishes. My hope is that you will pick up the book and be excited about trying something that you may not be exposed to or do not know how to make,” she said.
“So I have tried to make the food images inviting. My experience growing up was that of eating Nigerian food from mainly the South West region. But my favorite dish today is native soup. It took a trip to Port Harcourt for me to discover this amazing soup. I hope there will be more cross-cultural experimentation.”
The Journey
The journey to Orishirishi Cookbook began with the Orishirishi Kitchen, a practical aspect Akerele launched to introduce a variety of Nigerian dishes to the Bogobiri menu.
The concept of the kitchen is to adopt produce sourced from selected local farms and markets across Nigeria in projecting the best tastes from Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage.
With the opening of Orishirishi Kitchen, Akerele’s inspiration and appreciation of the Nigerian experience—music, food, art, and culture gave way into the cookbook.
Akerele is an indigene of Owo, Ondo State who had her childhood in Nigeria, but studied and worked in the United Kingdom for over twenty years before returning to the country multiple experiences in investment banking, interior design and hospitality.
Awuneba Ajumogobia, former independent non-executive director for UAC of Nigeria Plc, forwarding the book described it as a homage to the power of diversity and unity of Nigerians, noting that the book allows all to connect and share these treasurable moments with family, friends at home and the world at large.
“Orishirishi will be a valuable addition to everyone’s coffee table – cooks and non-cooks alike. Each recipe comes with one of Tola’s interesting anecdotes before taking the reader on a culinary journey that reflects the variety of our cultural heritage, traversing the length and breadth of Nigeria and transporting our minds to the bubbling ingredients and rich fragrances that would be percolating in kitchens across our diverse country,” Ajumogobia explained.
Despite having the Diaspora as her target market, Akerele has seen an outpouring of affection and encouraging demand locally. She desires that everyone ventures into to the different sides of Nigeria food as they play their role in pushing local cuisines to mainstream on the global stage.
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