The food calendar isn’t short of things to get excited about, but the annual reveal of new Michelin stars remains one of its biggest events. Although stars remain the main benchmark that most chefs set themselves against, the awards have been accused in recent years of being a little boring and predictable. Look back at past winners and you’ll find that, though not exclusively, star winners trend heavily towards British, French and Modern European cooking, with most of the chefs represented being men.
Champagne AYALA: Celebrating over 160 years of history, Champagne AYALA was one of the original twenty-six Grandes Marques Champagne Houses. The House received a Royal Warrant in 1908 and became a part of the Bollinger family in 2005. With its longstanding commitment to the restaurant industry, Champagne AYALA is known for its chardonnay driven, low-dosage wines, crafted with precision and delicacy in a boutique scale. These wines are the ultimate epicurean pairing, it’s no wonder they have been served in the UK for over 100 years in many of London’s most prestigious establishments.
As 2024’s new stars were announced on stage at The Midland Hotel in Manchester, it looked as though that trend would continue, until Michelin International Director Gwendal Poullennec strode back onto the stage to announce one last surprise name.
‘Adejoké Bakare, Restaurant Chishuru!’
The pick was such a surprise, even Joké herself was caught off guard. In fact, no-one was more surprised than Joké herself as she stood on stage, sliding her arms into a pristine white Michelin chef’s jacket.
‘I only found out when I was called up to the stage,’ she says. ‘They don’t tell you anything! We were invited but I thought we were just making up the numbers.’ As she gets her jacket on, Michel Roux Jr jogs from the other side of the stage to embrace the shell shocked chef. ‘I was speechless. It was beyond my dreams.’
![Joke Bakare at Chishuru]()
In that moment, Joké became the first black woman ever to win a Michelin star in the UK, and only the second in the world, joining Beninese chef Georgiana Viou who won a Michelin star in 2023 for her restaurant Rouge in Nimes, France. The unexpected nature of her win has nothing to do with her exceptional talent, and more to do with the prevailing nature of Michelin’s awards, which rarely if ever have recognised West African cooking.
Truth be told, Joké’s story was already extraordinary before she won a Michelin star. Raised in Kaduna in northern Nigeria by a Yoruba father and an Igbo mother, Joké grew up surrounded by three very distinct cuisines, and the influence of that wide cultural spectrum has always inspired her cooking. She has always felt very connected to food and family; as a child she would sit by the door of the kitchen and watch her grandmother frying plantain and making other traditional East Nigerian street foods. ‘I loved helping her,’ she says. ‘She’d let me hold the basket as she picked things.’ As the oldest of her siblings, the responsibility soon fell on her to learn to cook for the family, and she happily absorbed the recipes and teachings of her family.
Joké studied microbiology at university and moved to the UK in 1999, but even as she took on various jobs, her passion for cooking smouldered in the background. To satisfy her aspirations, she would cook for friends at the weekends, gathering groups in her flat and hosting enormous dinner parties. ‘Friends always told me I should do supper clubs, and it had always been at the back of my mind,’ she explains, ‘but I always questioned whether it was just a dream that would never materialise. When you have a dream, it’s easy to think of all the reasons why it won’t work - you don’t have the money, or the knowledge, or the strength to do it.’
‘Completely compelling as a cook and a host...’
Some of that strength came from friends, who encouraged her to start a supper club. Though she ran a few and they were successful, Joké’s ambitions were much grander, and she was on the verge of giving up on her dreams when one last big opportunity appeared. In early 2019, Brixton Village hosted a competition to find talented amateur chefs, two of whom would win a six-month residency in the Village itself. Joké breezed through to the final and won the competition, alongside Ferdinand ‘Budgie’ Montoya (founder of Sarap, Apoy and Alpas London).
![adejoke bakare in the kitchen]()
Chishuru’s Brixton digs were far from glamorous - the restaurant was either freezing cold or sweltering, and staff and guests had to share a single public toilet with the rest of Brixton Village. And yet, Joké’s cooking transcended everything. Chishuru acquired a cult following of dedicated fans, including restaurant critics and chefs alike. ‘Completely compelling as a cook and a host,’ was how chef Jackson Boxer described Joké upon meeting her and eating her food.
So, what is it that makes Joké’s food special? One element is warmth and generosity, driven by Joké’s ultimate desire to feed people, the same responsibility she grew up with to feed her family. But there’s also a juxtaposition of complexity and simplicity that is compelling - Joké’s cooking is influenced by flavours from all over West Africa, as well as the UK, but she distils all that into something that looks completely effortless.
‘My version of West African food is also coloured by my years spent here,’ she explains. ‘As an immigrant, everywhere you go you make do with what you have there, in order to reproduce the taste and flavour you got from home. There are some things that we don’t have, that we manage to recreate, and that becomes our version of West African food.’
'I feel an immense responsibility to tell the story of the food.’
There’s some comfort in knowing that, even in London’s hectic and heavily structured restaurant ecosystem, prodigious talent can cut through and find success for the right reasons. Chishuru has since moved to its current home in Fitzrovia, and as the UK’s first black, female Michelin star winner - ‘hopefully the first of many,’ she says - Joké has been catapulted further into the world spotlight. She laughs when I ask her about the many, many interviews she has done over the last six months - one senses that even now, all she wants to do is cook. That said, the responsibility of her new standing isn’t lost on her. ‘It’s so heartening to be able to inspire people,’ she says with a smile. ‘I get lots of emails and messages from female West African chefs, telling me that what we’re doing at Chishuru has inspired them. I love that and I feel an immense responsibility to tell the story of the food.’
Joké’s perfect match for AYALA's Le Blanc de Blancs A/18
The dish: Mushroom moi moi with Scotch Bonnet sauce
The Champagne: AYALA Le Blanc de Blancs A/18
![joke bakare mushroom moi moi]()
Joké explains: ‘It’s a moi moi - a steamed bean cake - with mushrooms. At this time of year you’re blessed with so many different textures and types of mushrooms, and we decided to use porcini and cep in there with some beans and aromatics, blitzed down and steamed. You have sweetness from the onions, some spice, and depth of flavour of the mushrooms, which all goes really well with the Champagne. The Scotch Bonnet is quite gentle as well so it doesn’t overpower it!’
Joké’s quick bites
Who or what have been your biggest influences?
My grandma! The way she knuckled down and perfected her art for years is so inspiring to me. It’s hard to keep doing the same thing daily and trying to be the best at what you do, and that’s what I want to do - not letting anything distract me and focus on honing my craft.
If you could give someone just starting out some words of wisdom, what would they be?
Be resilient. Persevere. In this job you have to have a certain level of resilience to break through!
Describe your cooking style in three words?
Food from the heart.
What is your favourite thing to cook at home?
I’m the worst person to ask that question, it depends on what I feel like!
What’s your favourite foodie destination?
I really want to go to Bangkok this year, that’s a dream for me. Everyone who knows me knows I love Thai food!
If you weren't a chef what would you be?
I think maybe I'd work in fashion - I need a creative outlet. I think apart from the technical part of being a chef I love the creative aspect too.
What was the last great thing you ate?
Oh, I went to Singburi recently with some friends and it was fantastic!
Explore more of our chef interviews in partnership with AYALA, including Adriana Cavita, Roberta Hall-McCarron and April Lily Partridge.