If I were to tell you that 2024 has already been a hugely significant year for West African food, then where would your mind immediately turn? Might it be Chishuru? The whirling firecracker of a West End restaurant where brilliant, Nigerian-born autodidact Adejoké Bakare (recently named Chef of the Year at the National Restaurant Awards) has already won a Michelin star for her expressive, palate-jolting adaptations of traditional recipes? Would you skip towards its near-neighbour, Akoko, which was also awarded a first star in February for its elegantly crafted yet uncompromising plates of smoked goat, pepper soup and jollof rice?
