Hibiscus – the modern take on Nigerian cuisine

It’s a warm May day, and Lope Ariyo had just finished a book signing before enjoying a Frappucino outside a Starbucks near the Hayward Market in London Bridge. Unknown to most of the British public, the mathematics master’s degree student, self-taught cook and imminent chef has helped place Nigerian cuisine on the map.

When British Nigerian Ariyo returned home to West Croydon, at the age of 13 after two years of boarding school in Nigeria, she began to crave her native cuisine, something that London could not quite provide in all its glory. Turning to the kitchen, she soon discovered her love for cooking, and began to recreate the delicacies she had experienced whilst in Nigeria.

Surprisingly, even in her earliest endeavours, Ariyo, now 24, displayed a meticulousness and attention to detail with all things food, which led her to become the house chef, taking over from her mum.

Ariyo knew exactly what she wanted, and how she wanted it made.

“I don’t think I would have had the same inspiration if I had not gone to Nigeria,” she said. “I am the kind of person that get very bored eating the same dish. At maximum, I can only have the same thing twice.”

This led her to expand her palate, and aged just 16 she began writing her own recipes.

“I would look up recipes online and see how I could adjust them,” she said. “At that time I wouldn’t call it recipe writing, I was making things into my own.”

That was the time she began to fuse cuisines - putting British spins on Nigerian foods, drawing also from the people around her, who hailed from various parts of the globe. Little did she know these early recipe developments became the foundations of her debut cookbook, Hibiscus, in which she infuses her Nigerian heritage with British foods, which she calls being a modern Nigerian cook.

“I want my cookbook to be a gateway to West African food,” she said, enjoying the spring air as she sat in the nearly deserted Starbucks patio. “For people who are not brave enough to experiment different cuisines, once they see ingredients they are familiar with they are more likely to taste. And I am happy to be that stepping stone.”

She experiments adding different funky flavours to the traditional cuisine, which she believes will encourage people are more likely to be open to it.

“Once people taste it they are sold. I have had a few people who have never had Nigerian cuisine before and have attended my supper club. When they taste it they’re like, ‘oh my god, this is amazing,’” Ariyo said smiling.

Twenty-four-year-old manager, Abigail Opiah, is from Nigeria. Food, she describes is “is the source that brings her family together”, usually at birthdays and large celebrations. Opiah believes that the more similar dishes have become more mainstream such as – jellof rice and stews. But the dishes that require more complexity, longer preparation and hard to find ingredients she doubts will make the cut.

“More traditional dishes like ogbono soup and pounded yam, I don’t think will become as popular. Ingredients such as red palm oil and dried cray fish are not so popular in Western Cultures,” she said.

Food and cooking aided her though completing her master’s degree at Loughborough University. As her love for food grew, so did her creativity – and her dissatisfaction with maths. Ariyo began looking outside the world of numbers, and started her own food blog, perfecting her recipe writing and creating YouTube videos of her unique fusion recipes.

As she came closer and closer to the end of her degree, she wondered what to do next. Seeing a competition advertised in Red Magazine that offered budding food writers and cooks to have their own cookbook published, she jumped at the opportunity, not believing anything would come of it.

Not surprisingly, she absolutely blew the judges away - and won. She is now excitedly, but patiently, waiting for its imminent release. She believes this competition has led her further and further into the world of food.

The humble author describes the experience as “surreal”. Since winning the competition, she has hosted a Red-sponsored supper club, and has spoken about Nigerian cuisine and her up and coming book at several events.

“I’m like wow, am I really in this position? Am I really, making a name for myself and making a name for Nigerian cuisine?” she said.

Ayrio is keen on highlighting Nigerian spices and flavours, which is illustrated in her cookbook. She is not only bringing them into the spotlight, but giving them the recognition she thinks they deserve, and, in the long run, hopefully encouraging their usage.

She believes typical Nigerian spices such as hibiscus, egusi seeds and uda do not get enough recognition or usage in Nigeria, let alone in the UK. Uda, a particular spice, is only used in two main dishes in Nigerian cuisine. As she intricately describe its taste, how it works well it combined with fatty ingredients, and the fact she believes this spice should be on the same exalted level as the precious spice saffron, her passion for food is very clear.

“I want typical spices that are not seen as typically Nigerian to be used in Nigerian food and create something even more va-va-voom,” she said.

Nigerian food does not particularly specialise in baked goods, but Ariyo incorporates traditional ingredients into baked goods as well. Egusi seeds are usually used in stew components, but Ayrio breaks all rules and uses them in a cake.

“I like to call them the slimmer cousin of almonds. I created a hibiscus and coconut cake with the egusi seeds,” she explains.

The young author compares the growing trend of recipe videos, food blogging and recipe blogging to YouTube beauty blogging. Popular Facebook videos from Tasty, the food section of Buzzfeed, have become viral sensations, many racking over millions of views. Although most recipes are not developed by the video maker per se, Ayrio believes as the trend grows, more people will realise money can be made from the craft and exposure from the internet.

“I don’t think there is anyone doing unique dishes, where they have actually sat down and thought about these ingredients and how they can manipulate them,” she said.

Despite her defined palate and desire to manipulate ingredients, she describes herself as a simple person. Her favourite dishes include pounded yam and egusi stew. She says that in her opinion, a close second to Nigerian food is Asian cuisine, in particular Thai.

“I’m a sucker for a Thai green curry cooked in coconut milk, with rice - specifically Jasmine rice,” she said.

It was hard for her to choose between a pizza and burger. In the end she opted decided to go for junk food as her third favourite dish.

“I love food and love learning about ingredients, but I’m a very simple person at heart.”

Aryio’s book, Hibiscus, is now available now on Amazon.