How a Fortuitous Email Led to Zoe's Ghana Kitchen

 
Zoe's Ghana Kitchen
 

It’s been 10 years since London-based chef Zoe Adjonyoh founded Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen in Brixton. The popular pop-up restaurant and supper club series was a first-of-its-kind in the city, serving up contemporary West African dishes as part of Zoe’s mission to change the narrative around African food.

In 2017, Zoe, who also sells spices, prints, and her signature It’s Ghana Be Tasty tees through her online store, released her first cookbook Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen: Traditional Ghanaian Recipes Remixed For The Modern Kitchen. The book, which Zoe considers a love letter to Ghana, is filled with stories from the chef’s homecoming trip to Ghana, photos of her family, and even a playlist of Ghanaian songs to accompany the stories and recipes. It’s a celebration of Ghanaian cooking that is not prescriptive but instead encourages readers to let loose and experiment. As Zoe says, “I want people to buy the book, connect with it holistically, and go forth and play! Play with those spice blends and see what delicious fun you can have exploring Ghanaian flavors!”

Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen is being re-released in the U.S. this month. To celebrate, Zoe told us about the cover inspiration and how she wrote the book while working 16-hour days, and even shared her recipe for Grilled Sardines in a Spiced Roasted Tomato Sauce.

By Audrey Payne

 
 
 
 

HOW I GOT MY BOOK DEAL
I was super lucky. I didn’t chase it, it came to me like a gift pretty much wrapped up. I only had to make small decisions based on who I felt comfortable being represented by.

I was actually about to sign a digital publishing deal the same day literary agent Elise Dillsworth contacted me asking if I was interested in doing a cookbook. Synchrodestiny was in full play so I didn’t sign that first deal and waited a beat. Then, Ruby Tandoh interviewed me for The Guardian and I was flooded with messages from agents and publishing houses with the same inquiry—was I ready to do a book? 

I was a little intimated by the prospect, to be honest. I had no idea how to write a cookbook. Did I know enough? Would people read it? What would they think? Would Ghanaians be upset? Would white people get it? 

I went to a lot of meetings, but Eleanor Maxfield at Octopus had sent what I thought to be a pretty convincing understanding of my journey and allyship in a tone I hadn’t heard from anyone else. Everyone who had been approaching me was very posh and white, which frankly put me off. I didn’t know how to relate to these people and I didn’t feel comfortable. Elise was the only Black agent who approached me and I loved how literary her talent pool was. Eleanor seemed the most down to earth and Octopus had published Sabrina Ghayour’s Persiana and Chetna Makan’s The Cardamom Trail, so the match was made.

 
Nkrakra from Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen. Photo by Nassima Rothacker.

Nkrakra from Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen. Photo by Nassima Rothacker.

 

WRITING THE PROPOSAL
To be honest, I think I got off pretty lightly compared to most. I’m now in the process of writing proposals for new books and there is much higher bar to meet in the States than I had with Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen in the U.K. My book proposal was pretty much a few paragraphs about who I was, what I had done so far, and where I was going. I laid out the chapter sections and included a few recipes, but it was pretty scrappy compared to the proposals I’m writing now. The essence of the proposal was the essence of who I am as the cookbook is very much about me. I guess they bought into me as much as anything else. 

MY COOKBOOK TEAM
The lovely Nassima Rothacker was the lead photographer for this edition, Polly Webb-Wilson was the food stylist, Yasia Williams was the art director, Eleanor Maxfield was my editor, and Elise is my agent.

 
Contact Sheet from the cookbook shoot

Contact Sheet from the cookbook shoot

 

THIS BOOK WOULDN’T HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT…
My “homecoming” trip to Ghana. I had gone back for the first time in over 30 years to get rooted in my ancestry, to delve into recipe research, and to explore and discover with curiosity fully open and awake. That trip gave the whole book structure and inspired the stories within it. It also helped me write headnotes, design the playlists, etc. I don’t know what kind of a book it would have been had I not taken that journey.

RECIPE I’M MOST EXCITED ABOUT
It’s always Nkatsekwan, peanut butter/groundnut stew with lamb. It’s the dish I grew up making, loving, and sharing, and the dish that launched Ghana Kitchen back in 2010. It’s such a beautiful combination of flavors. I’ve never been hugged so well as I am by a bowl of peanut butter stew with gari and plantain. The ultimate comfort food.

FIRST THING PEOPLE SHOULD MAKE FROM ZOE’S GHANA KITCHEN
Head straight for the cheat sheet, make all the spice blends, and go play! 

 
Blend it! Photo from Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen by Nassima Rothacker.

Blend it! Photo from Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen by Nassima Rothacker.

 

THE HARDEST PART WAS…
Making time. I was working full time at the restaurant doing long-ass 14-to-16 hour days every day. I’d get home from work at midnight and stay up until 3 or 4 a.m. writing; wake up at 7 or 8 a.m. to answer the catering, press, and other inquires; do social media; and manage the business before going to kitchen for another double shift. I did that on repeat for about three months.

ON MY MOOD BOARD
I had a clear vision in my mind’s eye that Yasia executed beautifully. The book doesn’t have all the textural elements I wanted because of costs, but I love where we ended up.

I knew I wanted bright boldness, I wanted texture, and I wanted kente, but not in a kitsch or contrived way. It needed to feel like I hoped Ghana Kitchen felt as a brand—exciting, modern Africa, and accessible, but representative of traditional.

 
Mood Board
 

CREATING THE COVER
My good friend Yassa Khan basically designed the look and feel of the original Ghana Kitchen branding. He inspired the textural elements and came up with [the cover below] in a flash. I sent it to Yasia with a Marfa Journal cover image for textural reference and that’s what inspired the final cover.

 
The cover that inspired the cover

The cover that inspired the cover

 

KITCHEN ATTIRE
I would wear a t-shirt in the kitchen and be happy, but my wife’s pretty much in charge of my chef wardrobe. I don’t feel comfortable in chef whites, they’re so, well, sterile and the opposite of fun, so she buys me great colored jackets and African print trousers that I use as my chef trousers. I also have a salmon pink chef’s jacket from Chef Works, which I love, but what I really want is custom kente apron and jacket. My birthday is coming up so you never know!

 
Zoe’s It’s Ghana Be Tasty Tee!

Zoe’s It’s Ghana Be Tasty Tee!

 

GO-TO INGREDIENT
My favorite ingredient of the last year has been dawadawa or iru, which is fermented locust bean. It has such deep savory umami to it and only requires small doses to lift and enhance any dish. It goes a long way in cooking even outside of West African food and I use it in the same way you might a stock cube. It’s also protein packed so is a great tool when subbing our meat ingredients.

 
 

MOST USED KITCHEN TOOL WHEN MAKING ZOE’S GHANA KITCHEN
Back then I had very little to be honest, but I was extremely proud of my chef knives from ICEL. They were my first professional set and I still use them today. A little boring to look at maybe, but they have perfect weight in the handles and the blades are so well designed.

 
ICEL Chef Knife

ICEL Chef Knife

 

COOKBOOK EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE
The book that inspired me most when I was first starting out was Bryant Terry’s Afro-Vegan. Mostly because it was the most relevant cookbook I had read and Bryant’s personality shone through the book in a way I loved to see. He was a Black guy cooking Black food and that was incredibly inspiring.

 
 
 


Cook the book

Zoe shared her recipe for Grilled Sardines
in Spiced Roasted Tomato Sauce 

 
 


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