London’s African fine dining boom: How restaurants like Akoko and Chishuru are redefining the scene

African restaurants in London are growing, with chefs bringing tradition and innovation to the capital's diverse tastes.

Transcript

00:00I've come to one of the few African mission star restaurants here in London. The number

00:06of African restaurants has increased in the capital over the last few years. But what

00:10makes Akoko so unique? Let's find out.

00:18I go out to eat quite a lot. I go to Chinese restaurants, French restaurants, Indian restaurants,

00:32pretty much all the beautiful cuisines all over the world and fine dining. I didn't quite

00:40see any African restaurant that I could go with friends, colleagues. I thought it's actually

00:47time, and so Akoko means time, to do something like that. And the important thing was it

00:54had to be in central London. It had to be good quality, exceptional West African food.

01:00How do you balance traditional African ingredients with fine dining techniques?

01:05You have the West African ingredients and you also showcase the techniques passed down

01:10from tradition. And it's just the way the service then works and how we place that food

01:16and then bring it to the fine dining space.

01:25So I'm from Cameroon, which is more central Africa, but I recognise a lot of the ingredients

01:30and the kind of flavours and the smells that are here. But I think it's a very, especially

01:34for people who are African, it's kind of like I recognise this. And for people who do come

01:38in and don't experience it, it's a new experience, there's new flavours.

01:46We are seeing more West African restaurants open and we're glad that they're becoming

01:53huge successes as well. So we don't think it will stop with us. The idea is that it

01:59continues, pretty much to grow the interest. And yeah, that's how it stays. That's how

02:04West African food, or African food at large, becomes a mainstay.

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