Chefs Without Restaurants

Chefs Without Restaurants


Ghanaian Cooking and Decolonizing the Food Industry with Chef Zoe Adjonyoh

November 02, 2021

On this episode, we're joined by Zoe Adjonyoh. She's a chef, writer, entrepreneur, and the founder of Zoe's Ghana Kitchen, a West African food brand that she started in 2010. Zoe's been pioneering modern West African food in the forms of supper clubs in London, Berlin & New York. She had her own restaurant in Brixton, and has done numerous pop-ups  and events. In 2017 she released her cookbook, Zoe's Ghana Kitchen, which was just republished and re-released in October. If you go to her website, you can get more info on the book, find recipes, purchase items from her spice line, and learn about her online classes.On the show, we talk about how her background, having an Irish mother, and a father from Ghana, influenced her cooking. Our conversation revolves primarily around decolonizing the food industry, and who should be profiting from African foodways. We talk about gatekeeping, and the importance of sharing opportunities, and the stage, with others, even when it means passing on an incredible opportunity for ourselves. We discuss her podcast Cooking Up Consciousness, and the upcoming anthology she's editing, Serving Up: Essays on food, identity, and culture. And I asked her if she identified as a cook or a chef, and what it means to be a chef these days. SponsorsIf you're interested in grits, corn meal, and corn flour that are both delicious and nutritious, check out Professor Torbert's Orange Corn.   All of their products are non-GMO, gluten free and vegan. Their orange corn is helping fight micronutrient deficiencies in more than 10 African countries. So, when you choose Professor Torbert's you aren't just saying yes to better flavor. You're also helping deliver better nutrition on a global scale. When ordering on their website, use discount code CHEFS10 to save 10%.Looking to hire employees for your restaurant? This week's sponsor is Savory Jobs, a job site only for restaurants. For just $50, get unlimited job postings for an entire year. Use discount code SAVORY10 to save 10%.===========Zoe Adjonyoh=========== Zoe Adjonyoh InstagramZoe Adjonyoh TwitterZoe's Ghana KitchenThe Cooking UpConsciousness Podcast Buy the book Zoe's Ghana Kitchen, and support the book Serving Up==========================CHEFS WITHOUT RESTAURANTS==========================SUPPORT US ON PATREONGet the Chefs Without Restaurants NewsletterVisit Our Amazon Store (we get paid when you buy stuff)Chefs Without Restaurants Facebook pageChefs Without Restaurants private Facebook groupChefs Without Restaurants InstagramFounder Chris Spear’s personal chef business Perfect Little BitesIf you want to support the show, our Venmo name is ChefWoRestos and can be found at https://venmo.com/ChefWoRestos. If you enjoy the show it would be much appreciated.