#ChopChatChill with Chuku’s London
If you follow us on Twitter (which you really should), you’ll see that our MD, Jessica Hope, is currently in Lagos, Nigeria for the recently concluded Mobile West Africa 2017 and to catch up with clients. Apart from that, Jess has been eating all the food delicacies Lagos has to offer – Yup, I’m jealous. However Chuku’s came along and to keep the green-eyed monster at bay,
Founded by siblings, Emeka and Ifeyinwa Frederick, Chuku’s is the world’s first Nigerian tapas restaurant based in London. Fusing Nigerian cuisine with the homely feel of Spanish tapas bars, Chuku’s are not only sharing the Nigerian culture through food, they are also creating a culturally immersive dining experience for their guests.
Last week, I attended Chuku’s exclusive dinner at Craving Coffee, where they took us on a mouth-watering trip from London to Lagos. This was exciting for me because Chuku’s has been on my radar for a while – they’ve featured in Metro, Elle, Londonist, London Live and more.
Upon arrival, each guest was greeted by ‘Little Sister’ Ifeyinwa, who gave us a placard with our names on one side and a newly give Nigerian name on the other. I already have 6 names (5 of which are Yoruba names), but was more than happy to add another one to the list. For the night, I was ‘Ada’ which means ‘Daughter’ in Igbo.
As I was chatting and chilling with the other guests, we were served with Eba and Egusi. The eba came in small dough balls. Then we had the Moi Moi, which was tasty and the texture was similar to that of a red velvet cake *drool*
Next, the Jollof Quinoa and plantain was placed on our table. I must admit I was a bit skeptical about this dish as I once made an attempt to create this, however it was an epic fail. However, Chuku’s jollof quinoa was P-E-R-F-E-C-T!
By the time the Caramel Kuli Kuli Chicken was served, I ditched my fork and began to use my fingers. I must apologise, the wings were so inviting that I completely forgot to take a picture, #sorrynotsorry. They also served their Barbecued Peppered chops, Oloyin Pottage (forgot to take a pic), Ayamase Beef Ribs and Honey Suya Prawns – all were very delicious.
It’s worth noting that I went to this dinner party on a very very empty stomach and didn’t really want to share (yes, I’m greedy when it comes to food), however I was pretty full at this point. There were two dessert dishes left for us to taste and it was my duty, as an invited guest, to make sure I had space in my stomach for them. I was particularly interested in the dessert menu because (to the best of my knowledge) Nigerians do not have a staple dessert dish. The Plantain Waffles were very nice, but the Chin Chin Cheesecake blew me away!!!
Between the Moin Moin, Jollof Quinoa and Chin Chin Cheesecake, I honestly can’t decide which is my favourite dish. The guests I had a chat with were pretty awesome and the food had us talking about race and culture in the UK. I willl definitely visit Chuku’s again – in fact, their next event is at their supperclub, in honour of Evening Standard’s London Food Month, taking place one June 5th at Ovalhouse. Tickets are available here.
