She is Making History: Meet Adejoké Bakare

Photo Credit: Harriet Langford

Please tell us a little bit about you, your business and where you are from?

I was born and raised in northern Nigeria, and came to the UK 25 years ago. I worked in various fields including property management and health & safety, but always dreamed of having my own restaurant – I’ve had the name ‘Chishuru’ in my head for decades. I ran a supper club or two and in 2019 a friend spotted a competition to win a three-month popup restaurant in Brixton Village, south London. I entered, and to my amazement, I won. I finally opened the restaurant in September 2020 and two months later, the food critic of the Observer came in and gave it a rave review; Brixton Village asked me to make it a permanent restaurant, and I grew from there. I closed that restaurant in October 2022, and together with my friend and business partner Matt Paice we found a new site in central London which we opened in September 2023. Five months later, I was awarded a Michelin star.

What has been your biggest obstacle whether professionally or personally, and how did you overcome it?

London landlords were not very interested in having a west African restaurant in their premises. We were flatly refused sites we wanted, and for a while with our current site it looked like the deal would fall through and we would lose everything. Summer 2023 was very challenging indeed! The answer was persistence and self-belief. I just refused to give up.

What advice would you give to someone thinking of starting a business?

Be prepared to throw everything into it. It is a completely different way of life to a nine-to-five job. It is also hugely personal, in a way that a job as an employee of someone else’s business is not. A business setback becomes a personal setback; a criticism of the business becomes a criticism of you. You develop a thick skin. It is of course also hugely rewarding, and if you’re lucky, financially rewarding too.

How does it feel to make history as the first black female Michelin-starred chef in the UK and the second black female Michelin-starred chef in the world?

It’s all still sinking in. It’s a great honour of course; the hospitality industry gives out lots of awards to itself, but the one that chefs care about more than any other is Michelin. And it’s lovely to imagine that I might inspire a black female chef – representation matters.

What has been the best business advice you have received to date?

My mentor, chef Jackson Boxer, told me to have a clear vision for the business and what it stands for. A vision informs all the decisions you make, and a sense of mission gives you a sense of purpose, which gives you drive.

Where can our readers connect with you online?

Instagram is the best place: @chishuru

Photo Credit: Harriet Langford

Photo Credit: Harriet Langford

Jenni Steele

Jenni Steele has a twenty-year career supporting, educating and uplifting the community. She is a mother, GlamMa, author, patron of Ashmole International School in Ghana, national ambassador for THIUK, and founder of Project YANA CIC.

Jenni is an author, her new books Self Discovery Exercise Journals for boys and girls. She has been featured in books and talk shows. She has interviewed celebrities and travelled the world throughout her career.

Her message to other women is, "Be willing to stand for yourself, within yourself, so that you can surround yourself with the things that honor who you are!"

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