Chishuru

Fonio! This ancient West African grain is one of Joké's favourite ingredients in the kitchen. The mad scientists at Carlsberg's Research Laboratory in Copenhagen love it too, which is why they've produced a super super limited edition fonio beer as part of their "Brewing for Impact" campaign. We have basically all the bottles of this beer in the UK and are doing a special dinner next Tuesday - Joké has created a delicious one-night-only menu with fonio used throughout the meal.

Tickets are £95 for dinner and a 750ml bottle of the beer. For more details and to book, visit our website (link in bio) and click Fonio Dinner in the header.

Final post from our recent trip to Nigeria. We travelled north to Abuja, an hour by plane but so so different to Lagos: rolling hills, lots of greenery, mercifully empty roads and a laid-back vibe. We went for kilishi, a flavoured beef jerky dried in the sun - about 20 stalls set out round a square, each with the proprietor's name on, each offering a tweak on the levels of sugar and spice used. In the evening, we went for our best meal of the trip at - a restaurant with its own culinary school, run by . The chef himself was overseas, but we were warmly welcomed by Samuel, and introduced to the hugely impressive young kitchen team, most of whom were women. (Like an idiot, I didn't get a photo.) We enjoyed their tasting menu including a salad with kilishi, torched mackerel, a terrific yoghurt/cheese predessert that's their riff on a Nigerian staple fan yogo, and a delicious dessert made with potato. As a posh restaurant meal, the whole thing was streets ahead of anything we'd seen in Lagos. Samuel kindly presented us with a box of local spices as a goodbye gift. 5.45am the next morning we got up to head back to London. Joké is already planning the next trip!

PALM WINE. We visited in Lagos, not just for his ofada rice with fantastic ayamase stew, but also because the restaurant is renowned for serving the best palm wine in the city. Tapped fresh from the sap of a palm tree, the wine ferments quickly and can turn vinegary, which is why at this restaurant they insist on having the palm wine brought in daily. It was a world away from the product you get in a bottle. Then we spent an afternoon with Lola, the superstar inspiring founder of ògógóró, the spirit distilled from palm wine. Lola told us all about how she started the brand and what it stands for, the history of ògógóró and its importance in West Africa. You can try it yourself in our spiced okra Martini, and (coming soon) try it neat as a digestif with a square of bitter chocolate at the end of your meal with us. Finally, in Nigeria there are many alcoholic drinks aimed at improving men's "sexual prowess" and Action Bitters was one of our favourites!

Some more pics from our Lagos visit. First up, we went to "University of Suya" for some of the best grilled meats in the city. Joké made the mistake of asking about his yaji recipe, and was met with derision from the crowd of regulars waiting around ("you never ask a spiceman his secrets!"). On to the fish market for enormous prawns, and all the different smoked and dried fish & shellfish. A young woman outside the market was selling an Igbo-style cassava salad with ash dressing which we loved - all assembled from different pots and tubs in the box she carried.

Some highlights coming up from our recent trip to Nigeria. We started in Lagos at Oyingbo market for spices and herbs. It was fascinating to listen to Joké cross-examine all the traders about their wares, how they're prepared, how they're used. Plus her market haggling techniques are something to behold ("give me your sister price... okay give me your twin sister price").

At the National Restaurant Awards tonight!

We're delighted that Chishuru and have been shortlisted for two special award categories at this year's , Opening of the Year and Chef of the Year. We're likely to lose out to the Guinness lads and that fella who shoots his own deer, but keep your fingers crossed for us anyway please🤞

We got our plaque! Does anyone have a drill and some screws?

Got our plaque today. Does anyone have a drill and some screws?

shared some photos with us from the Manchester ceremony two weeks ago. If you've ever wondered what Joké looks like when she's stunned into silence, wonder no more!

Sinasir with mushroom purée, crushed walnuts, black garlic paste, cauliflower mushroom, pink pickled onions and grains of paradise. From our dinner menu.

🏆 First black female Michelin-starred chef in the UK
🏆 Second black female Michelin-starred chef in the world 🌍

Sango Salsa from our cocktail menu. White rum, spiced rum, pineapple, mango, green chilli, coriander. All our cocktails have been created by Sophie and Joké, drawing inspiration from our kitchen 🍸

Our current starters at dinner: sinasir with cauliflower mushroom, ceo & shiitake purée and grains of paradise; moi moi with omelette, crispy seaweed and grated dried scallop roe; peppersoup with shellfish, apple and radish.

Our lunch mains choices of the moment: Ukwa (breadfruit seeds with kohlrabi, grilled breadfruit, matchstick potatoes, spinach & green chilli sauce) and Yassa (guinea fowl glazed and dusted with yaji spice, caramelised onion & lemon sauce), rice, plantains and house pickles.

Thank you for mentioning us in your list of "the 16 best things we ate in London in 2023" feature

Very happy to be featured in the Financial Times' list of London's best new restaurants 2023

Merry Christmas all! We're on a break now and reopening on Tuesday 9 January. Meanwhile here's a little round-up of photos of Joké from this bonkers year.

Thank you for the shout-out in the Evening Standard's "restaurants of the year 2023" feature

😘😘😘

Joké is in today's , in a feature on "the best thing I ate in 2023", with a double mention for

Joké is in today, in a lovely A to Z of London food by

So happy with this review in today's Sunday Times. Journalist really took the time to understand what Joké's cooking is all about ❤️

The team at have been huge supporters of ours since the early days, and we're so pleased they listed us in their 'best new restaurants 2023' feature. Link to the story in our Reviews highlights.

Today is Beaujolais Nouveau Day, we love Gamay, and so we're pouring the lovely Lapalu by the glass all day. The fruit for this wine comes from 60-80 year old vines near Brouilly, with zero added SO2, and the result is fresh and super drinkable.

Our dessert at dinner for the next two weeks or so: rice ice-cream, ehuru oat crumble, ginger cream, baobab powder

We'll be changing up the menu in the coming weeks, but for now these are our starters at dinner: peppersoup with meat floss, moi moi with duck liver, and sinasir with crab.

Our first menu changes will start to come through in the next week or two, but for now here's some of our starters and mains including guinea fowl with taro root & ehuru sauce, and Napa cabbage stuffed with caramelised shallots and utazi leaf & wild watermelon seed sauce

Downstairs ❤️

Lunchtime... We serve two starters, a main and dessert for £35, Monday to Friday. Drop in and see us.