Self-taught chef behind West African restaurant Chishuru – who became the first black woman to win a Michelin star in Britain – studied to be a biologist before a supper club set her on the path to making culinary history

She made history last month, becoming the first black woman in Britain to earn a Michelin star, but the owner of the West African-inspired Chishuru – currently the hottest table in town – should never have become a restauranteur.

Nigerian chef Adejoké Bakare, 51, founder of the Westminster-based restaurant that has food critics raving, received the prestigious award for dishes such as roasted goat belly and ginger fried rice.

The menu is a snip compared to some of London’s luxury restaurants, with a four-course lunch priced at £40, while a five-course dinner costs £75 per person.

Despite being ‘stunned’ by the culinary body’s recognition, the self-taught chef and her restaurant manager Matt Paice have resisted the ‘fine dining’ label, saying they want to appear ‘homely’ instead.

Speak with Michelin Great Britain, she said: ‘At the core of what we do, we are very homely. When you see our interior, you will see that we are homely and simply welcome you.’

Her journey to excellence has been both remarkable and unique, dating back to her time as a university student in Nigeria, where she found herself adventurously juggling a fish and chips cart alongside her studies.

Adejoké is the founder and chef of luxury eatery Chishuru in Westminster, offering a modern take on West African cuisine (photo: char-grilled guinea fowl breast, caramelized onion and lemon sauce, yaji peanut spice)

The delectable menu can be enjoyed in the form of just two set menus, priced at £40 or £75 per person (pictured: Newlyn cod fillet, fermented tomato sauce, Scotch bonnet, okra)

Born in Port Harcourt, in the southern Rivers State region of Nigeria, but raised in the northern Kaduna region, she studied biology before moving to Britain in the 1990s to pursue a career path that included both healthcare and property management included.

However, her passion for food refused to budge and the industrious chef began organizing supper clubs in London, hoping to raise awareness of West African cuisine in the capital.

Word of her enchanting twist on native dishes quickly spread and in 2019 she won the Brixton Kitchen competition, a competition set up to seek out the best in local culinary innovation and talent.

The following year, she opened a three-month pop in South London titled Chishuru, which means “silent eating” in Hausa, a dialect spoken in the northern parts of Nigeria.

The chef runs Chishuru with manager Matt Paice (pictured left)

Adejoké continues to impress customers with exciting dishes such as fermented rice cake and shiitake mushrooms, charcoal grilled guinea fowl breast and whole fried quail with uda and uziza – the latest West African spices (not pictured)

The pop-up became a great success and quickly turned into a permanent fixture, while retaining the Chisuru name.

Although the Brixton branch closed in 2022, Adejoké ran several pop-ups in the capital before finally settling in posh Fitzrovia last year – where she has remained.

There she has dazzled customers with dishes such as fermented rice cake and shiitake mushrooms, charcoal-grilled guinea fowl breast and whole fried quails with uda and uziza – the latest West African spices.

For those expecting Nigerian main dishes, all main courses are served with rice and plantain.

The chef has resisted a fine dining label and instead wants her restaurant to be ‘homely’ (pictured: the interior of Chishuru in Fitzrovia)

Although Adejoké’s cooking is largely self-taught, she admits that she may have picked up some things from her parents, especially her father, whom she praised as a “great cook.”

To talk with BBC good food in 2022, the chef recalled the inspiration behind her cultured dishes: ‘In Nigeria and West Africa we use many of the same ingredients and spices, such as selim grains (similar to black pepper) or gourd nutmeg. In southern Nigeria, the food is bolder, spicier and uses more pepper.

‘But in the east people use more indigenous ground peppers, such as uziza. At home, the food was a mix of these different zones and cultures, and similarly at Chishuru I cook my take on traditional Nigerian food.”

Adejoke’s fearless embrace of her roots is perhaps aptly seen in a note on the restaurant’s website chishuru.com: ‘If you have no tolerance for spices at all, we recommend you choose another restaurant, sorry’.