Akoko appoints Ayo Adeyemi as executive chef
Adeyemi, whose CV includes stints at Heston Blumenthal's The Fat Duck in Bray and most recently Ryan Clift's Tippling Club in Singapore, will be Akoko's third executive chef since the restaurant launched back in October 2020.
With his menu, Adeyemi will look to lean on his West African heritage, with the restaurant continuing to primarily take its cues from the cuisines of Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria.
“I am delighted to join Akoko and use my experience to bring the ingredients and dishes, which represent my heritage and childhood memories, to the global stage,.” he says.
New dishes to feature on the restaurant's menu will include waina, a fermented rice snack served with Oscietra caviar; otoro, a tuna croustade with scotch bonnet kani; and asun, smoked goat with mustard seeds and burnt cucumber.
There will also be a new take on the signature jollof rice is served with barbecue native blue lobster, the claw poached and served alongside a pepper soup made from the shells.
“We are so thrilled to have Ayo on board after months of considerable planning,” says Aji Akokomi, founder of Akoko.
“We will be working together to deliver a memorable fine dining experience whilst staying true to our shared heritage.”
Akokomi opened Akoko with original executive chef William JM Chilila, a former MasterChef: The Professionals finalist, in late 2020, following a lengthy delay as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, Chilila soon left the project to be replaced by Clench, who himself left the restaurant earlier this year to launch Cycene with Blue Mountain School founders James and Christie Brown.
Akoko featured on the Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards top 100 list in 2021.
