In 2017, I was invited to participate in a festival at the Culinary Institute of America — the Hogwarts of chef schools is how I have since came to understand it — called “Worlds of Flavor.” This was the first time I had the opportunity to cook alongside other chefs of color — specifically, Black chefs with African roots, cooking African food at a level that would inspire and command me to step out of my comfort zone.
It was there that I met Shola Olunloyo, the 45-year-old Nigerian wizard of gastronomy who secured the first-ever residency at the nonprofit