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Lerato Umah-Shaylor
Lerato Umah-Shaylor is a chef, food writer, presenter and leading voice in African cuisine. Inspired by her love of Africa and the glorious foods of the continent, she set up the popular, immersive supper clubs and cookery classes in London, Brighton and the South East. She recently published a cookbook, Africana. We reached out to her on Instagram to find out more.
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Lerato Umah-Shaylor is a chef, food writer, presenter and leading voice in African cuisine. Inspired by her love of Africa and the glorious foods of the continent, she set up the popular, immersive supper clubs and cookery classes in London, Brighton and the South East. She recently published a cookbook, Africana. We reached out to her on Instagram to find out more.
Hi Lerato, Hannes here from Since Bread. Well done with your new recipe book! It’s amazing. Are you willing to chat to us?
Hi Hannes, oh, how wonderful! Thank you and that would be lovely.
How did you get into cooking in the first place?
Although I started cooking at a young age, my mother officially banned me from the kitchen until I was about 10 or 11 years old. I was so inquisitive that the family cook, ‘Papa’, couldn’t keep me out of the kitchen. I wanted to know how he made the curries and stews so delicious, and so he would allow me to do little jobs from chopping carrots to stirring stews. I remember it being so satisfying. In my early teens, my mother started to teach me more Nigerian recipes, as she prepared me to flee the nest. While studying for an Economics degree in the UK I grew even more curious about flavours from across the world and cooked every chance I got. It wasn’t until I was much older that my interest started to focus more on African cooking. After studying, I fell serendipitously into the world of food. And then I noticed a big gap in Africa and in the west for pan-African food being celebrated in mainstream media and on television. I wasn’t seeing foods from Africa being given such reverence as foods from other continents. My first TV show was a cooking programme on DSTV syndicated across Africa, where we showcased a variety of African recipes alongside other cuisines. A few years later, I hosted supper clubs in the UK which attracted both the public and some celebrity chefs as guests, strangers at the table coming together to enjoy good food. And then it transformed into a cookery school after people kept asking for recipes to cook what they had enjoyed at the supper clubs. It has been a nonstop adventure in food since, and now my debut cookbook, Africana, is a cumulation of all my previous experiences, alongside recipes and stories from across our vibrant continent.
How does your background and knowledge in economics aid your career in cooking?
Studying economics at university, especially development economics, exposed me to the importance of politics and different socio-economic factors and how they affect people, governments, and businesses. This analytical background has been most beneficial when running a food business, whether in Africa or in the UK, when creating recipes or teaching about the importance of seasonality and sustainability. I am conscious of the fact that several economic factors affect the way people shop and eat in different parts of the world and I acknowledge these disparities for the benefit of cooks.
You host a supper club but are not allowed to have any form of African cuisine on the menu. What are you cooking?
Haha! That’s a tough one or perhaps it isn’t. For snacks, crispy vegetable and seafood fritters with garlic and ginger served with a fragrant chilli oil and yoghurt dip with lemon zest. I always serve a roast of some kind; lamb, chicken, or fish. Without focusing on any one recipe from Africa, I will naturally reach for a mix of spices like cumin, fennel seeds, ginger, garlic, chillies, and makrut lime leaves with a mix of citrus juices – lemon and sweet orange, all crushed and puréed into a marinade for the roast. I’d also serve a rainbow of vegetables roasted with a light dusting of smoked paprika, crushed garlic, and sea salt. I’d serve my herb salad recipe from my new book Africana, not necessarily of African cuisine, but a recipe I created to accompany many dishes in the book. A mix of sweet and peppery leaves, coriander, parsley, mint with pomegranates, a mix of citrus, hibiscus syrup, and chopped dried apricots. For dessert, a refreshing mango, hibiscus, and citrus sorbet. Hibiscus is not only native to Africa. So, did I successfully skirt around African cuisine?
For total first-timers, what are the top 3 Nigerian dishes you would recommend as a must-try?
I would recommend Egusi Soup, which is a rich mélange of ground melon seeds cooked in a broth with chicken, crayfish, and scattered smoked fish, with spinach or a variety of leafy greens added at the final stage of cooking. It is one of the first recipes my mother taught me. You should definitely try the Suya, a peanut spiced grill, typically chicken or beef. In the Africana cookbook, I have a Sizzling Suya recipe which has a marinade and a rub with an extra sprinkle of the suya spices for maximum flavour.I also have a variation with mushrooms for a veggie based suya that is just spectacular. Jollof is an absolute classic, and with plantains of course. I would recommend pairing jollof rice with chakalaka and serving it along a braai for quite the feast. In Africa, I guide cooks to learn how to cook these and much more.
Many people with a Trump-like mentality probably think “African cuisine is non-existent like the continent”. What’s your message to them?
I believe ignorance has a cure, and a book like Africana that shares so much of the range of recipes found across the continent alongside stories of real people can go a long way to educate and inspire people, food lovers, and cooks of today and tomorrow.
What challenges did you have to overcome as an African woman trying to build a flourishing career in a country like the UK?
The main challenge I had to overcome, and I am still overcoming is perhaps a lack of knowledge or comprehension of Africa, its diversity, its beauty, and its might. As an African woman, living in the west, I am not only evangelizing the foods of our great continent to the world, I am also in a place where I am regarded as a minority. I am also striving for a place amongst so many other cuisines and many heavy weights in the food industry, a very difficult industry where only a handful truly shine. So, when I see my book on television, in magazines, and celebrated by many, it is heartwarming but also very heavy. In the past, many have told me, “…this is too niche”, but I rejected that, and wrote a cookbook to prove otherwise. Thanks to a great community and publishers who believe in us too. How can the foods of such a massive continent be niche amongst world foods? I feel the heavy weight of much more that is yet to come. We have a long way to go, and I am ready for that journey.
Most of us sometimes doubt ourselves and think we are not good enough. If you feel like that (while most people probably think you are brilliant), how do you deal with that?
From the moment I wake up, I acknowledge that blessing by praying. I believe in banking all the many small wins I experience each day. I preserve them in my mind in pictures, and in a diary, so that I can always go back to them to remember how far I have come, the challenges I have faced, and how I have overcome them. We all have highs and lows, but in the most difficult of times, we need reminders of the great moments, our achievements, our potential, and our dreams. And so as much as possible, while I also surround myself with the most supportive people who also guide me to be my best, I also bet on myself. When I doubt myself, I go back to my achievements and remind myself that I am worthy, I am capable and I have so much more to do and so much more to give to others, to give to the world.
Any exciting plans for the near future you would like to share?
I started a newsletter called Cook with Lerato where I continue to share more stories and recipes for our community of food lovers. It is a great resource and a great way for me to remain connected to my community. I would love as many people as possible to cook from Africana, sharing our foods far and wide, and so while the book is available across the world, I hope to continue my book tour beyond the UK, Africa, and beyond. I love meeting cooks and sharing treasured stories. Most of all I love bringing people together for the love of food, and I have also just launched the most exciting immersive cooking holidays and retreats across Africa and beyond. This is an extension of my popular supper clubs and cookery classes. On each trip, guests will join me on holiday to experience the food, culture, and people across Africa. Our upcoming destination is Ghana where we will enjoy the bustling city, and the energy of the vibrant markets before escaping to our 100% powered and sumptuous lodge overlooking the ocean. We will cook and feast to our heart’s delight and take in the most riveting cultural and historical sites.
What are you up to when you are not cooking/working?
I often take time off from cooking for work, because it becomes very intense when I am writing and creating recipes for my partnerships and masterclasses. But I do cook almost every day to live and as a form of therapy. I really enjoy dreaming up recipes or trying new flavours I come across either from a book, on my travels, or from the many people I speak to about food. When not cooking for work or to live, I consume a lot of stories and articles about food, travel, and culture, be it written in books, magazines, or newsletters, or spoken via podcasts, television, or radio. I love walking my dog on the beach and eating out with friends and family. Most of all I love travelling and soaking up culture, eating, and learning about good wine. I almost always return to food.
McDonald’s or KFC?
Really? I would sooner reach for my local Chinese restaurant or a fish and chip shop. I do enjoy takeaway dinners. I live on the English coast and we have amazing fish and chips.
Pineapple or no pineapple on your pizza?
Oh boy! Please no pineapple, although I could see how the sweet tart flavour profile could work, in a marinade for chicken, fish, or mushrooms or as a sort of sauce for the pizza. But I also can’t stand barbecue sauce on pizza. So, this is a hard no for me!
Gluten-free cake or lactose-free cake?
Neither. Although I am lactose intolerant! I love food too much and rich flavours, that I only truly give up something completely when it almost kills me.
Lerato Umah-Shaylor is a chef, food writer, presenter and leading voice in African cuisine. Inspired by her love of Africa and the glorious foods of the continent, she set up the popular, immersive supper clubs and cookery classes in London, Brighton and the South East. She recently published a cookbook, Africana. We reached out to her on Instagram to find out more.
Hi Lerato, Hannes here from Since Bread. Well done with your new recipe book! It’s amazing. Are you willing to chat to us?
Hi Hannes, oh, how wonderful! Thank you and that would be lovely.
How did you get into cooking in the first place?
Although I started cooking at a young age, my mother officially banned me from the kitchen until I was about 10 or 11 years old. I was so inquisitive that the family cook, ‘Papa’, couldn’t keep me out of the kitchen. I wanted to know how he made the curries and stews so delicious, and so he would allow me to do little jobs from chopping carrots to stirring stews. I remember it being so satisfying. In my early teens, my mother started to teach me more Nigerian recipes, as she prepared me to flee the nest. While studying for an Economics degree in the UK I grew even more curious about flavours from across the world and cooked every chance I got. It wasn’t until I was much older that my interest started to focus more on African cooking. After studying, I fell serendipitously into the world of food. And then I noticed a big gap in Africa and in the west for pan-African food being celebrated in mainstream media and on television. I wasn’t seeing foods from Africa being given such reverence as foods from other continents. My first TV show was a cooking programme on DSTV syndicated across Africa, where we showcased a variety of African recipes alongside other cuisines. A few years later, I hosted supper clubs in the UK which attracted both the public and some celebrity chefs as guests, strangers at the table coming together to enjoy good food. And then it transformed into a cookery school after people kept asking for recipes to cook what they had enjoyed at the supper clubs. It has been a nonstop adventure in food since, and now my debut cookbook, Africana, is a cumulation of all my previous experiences, alongside recipes and stories from across our vibrant continent.
How does your background and knowledge in economics aid your career in cooking?
Studying economics at university, especially development economics, exposed me to the importance of politics and different socio-economic factors and how they affect people, governments, and businesses. This analytical background has been most beneficial when running a food business, whether in Africa or in the UK, when creating recipes or teaching about the importance of seasonality and sustainability. I am conscious of the fact that several economic factors affect the way people shop and eat in different parts of the world and I acknowledge these disparities for the benefit of cooks.
You host a supper club but are not allowed to have any form of African cuisine on the menu. What are you cooking?
Haha! That’s a tough one or perhaps it isn’t. For snacks, crispy vegetable and seafood fritters with garlic and ginger served with a fragrant chilli oil and yoghurt dip with lemon zest. I always serve a roast of some kind; lamb, chicken, or fish. Without focusing on any one recipe from Africa, I will naturally reach for a mix of spices like cumin, fennel seeds, ginger, garlic, chillies, and makrut lime leaves with a mix of citrus juices – lemon and sweet orange, all crushed and puréed into a marinade for the roast. I’d also serve a rainbow of vegetables roasted with a light dusting of smoked paprika, crushed garlic, and sea salt. I’d serve my herb salad recipe from my new book Africana, not necessarily of African cuisine, but a recipe I created to accompany many dishes in the book. A mix of sweet and peppery leaves, coriander, parsley, mint with pomegranates, a mix of citrus, hibiscus syrup, and chopped dried apricots. For dessert, a refreshing mango, hibiscus, and citrus sorbet. Hibiscus is not only native to Africa. So, did I successfully skirt around African cuisine?
For total first-timers, what are the top 3 Nigerian dishes you would recommend as a must-try?
I would recommend Egusi Soup, which is a rich mélange of ground melon seeds cooked in a broth with chicken, crayfish, and scattered smoked fish, with spinach or a variety of leafy greens added at the final stage of cooking. It is one of the first recipes my mother taught me. You should definitely try the Suya, a peanut spiced grill, typically chicken or beef. In the Africana cookbook, I have a Sizzling Suya recipe which has a marinade and a rub with an extra sprinkle of the suya spices for maximum flavour.I also have a variation with mushrooms for a veggie based suya that is just spectacular. Jollof is an absolute classic, and with plantains of course. I would recommend pairing jollof rice with chakalaka and serving it along a braai for quite the feast. In Africa, I guide cooks to learn how to cook these and much more.
Many people with a Trump-like mentality probably think “African cuisine is non-existent like the continent”. What’s your message to them?
I believe ignorance has a cure, and a book like Africana that shares so much of the range of recipes found across the continent alongside stories of real people can go a long way to educate and inspire people, food lovers, and cooks of today and tomorrow.
What challenges did you have to overcome as an African woman trying to build a flourishing career in a country like the UK?
The main challenge I had to overcome, and I am still overcoming is perhaps a lack of knowledge or comprehension of Africa, its diversity, its beauty, and its might. As an African woman, living in the west, I am not only evangelizing the foods of our great continent to the world, I am also in a place where I am regarded as a minority. I am also striving for a place amongst so many other cuisines and many heavy weights in the food industry, a very difficult industry where only a handful truly shine. So, when I see my book on television, in magazines, and celebrated by many, it is heartwarming but also very heavy. In the past, many have told me, “…this is too niche”, but I rejected that, and wrote a cookbook to prove otherwise. Thanks to a great community and publishers who believe in us too. How can the foods of such a massive continent be niche amongst world foods? I feel the heavy weight of much more that is yet to come. We have a long way to go, and I am ready for that journey.
Most of us sometimes doubt ourselves and think we are not good enough. If you feel like that (while most people probably think you are brilliant), how do you deal with that?
From the moment I wake up, I acknowledge that blessing by praying. I believe in banking all the many small wins I experience each day. I preserve them in my mind in pictures, and in a diary, so that I can always go back to them to remember how far I have come, the challenges I have faced, and how I have overcome them. We all have highs and lows, but in the most difficult of times, we need reminders of the great moments, our achievements, our potential, and our dreams. And so as much as possible, while I also surround myself with the most supportive people who also guide me to be my best, I also bet on myself. When I doubt myself, I go back to my achievements and remind myself that I am worthy, I am capable and I have so much more to do and so much more to give to others, to give to the world.
Any exciting plans for the near future you would like to share?
I started a newsletter called Cook with Lerato where I continue to share more stories and recipes for our community of food lovers. It is a great resource and a great way for me to remain connected to my community. I would love as many people as possible to cook from Africana, sharing our foods far and wide, and so while the book is available across the world, I hope to continue my book tour beyond the UK, Africa, and beyond. I love meeting cooks and sharing treasured stories. Most of all I love bringing people together for the love of food, and I have also just launched the most exciting immersive cooking holidays and retreats across Africa and beyond. This is an extension of my popular supper clubs and cookery classes. On each trip, guests will join me on holiday to experience the food, culture, and people across Africa. Our upcoming destination is Ghana where we will enjoy the bustling city, and the energy of the vibrant markets before escaping to our 100% powered and sumptuous lodge overlooking the ocean. We will cook and feast to our heart’s delight and take in the most riveting cultural and historical sites.
What are you up to when you are not cooking/working?
I often take time off from cooking for work, because it becomes very intense when I am writing and creating recipes for my partnerships and masterclasses. But I do cook almost every day to live and as a form of therapy. I really enjoy dreaming up recipes or trying new flavours I come across either from a book, on my travels, or from the many people I speak to about food. When not cooking for work or to live, I consume a lot of stories and articles about food, travel, and culture, be it written in books, magazines, or newsletters, or spoken via podcasts, television, or radio. I love walking my dog on the beach and eating out with friends and family. Most of all I love travelling and soaking up culture, eating, and learning about good wine. I almost always return to food.
McDonald’s or KFC?
Really? I would sooner reach for my local Chinese restaurant or a fish and chip shop. I do enjoy takeaway dinners. I live on the English coast and we have amazing fish and chips.
Pineapple or no pineapple on your pizza?
Oh boy! Please no pineapple, although I could see how the sweet tart flavour profile could work, in a marinade for chicken, fish, or mushrooms or as a sort of sauce for the pizza. But I also can’t stand barbecue sauce on pizza. So, this is a hard no for me!
Gluten-free cake or lactose-free cake?
Neither. Although I am lactose intolerant! I love food too much and rich flavours, that I only truly give up something completely when it almost kills me.
