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The cliche saying “you are what you eat” is not only relevant to conversations around health and nutrition. Food is culture. It is a reflection of the stories, practices, and communal realities shared amongst groups of people across different periods in time. “Food is very important, you know,” Chef Michael Elégbèdé notes while deftly stirring a pot of pepper soup broth. “It’s the core of our identity. The way you think of a people’s food, is the way you think of them.”

Having spent his formative years living in the U.S. and working within its Eurocentric culinary landscape, the chef understood that “most of the time, our (Nigerian) food is looked at as something that is just for sustenance. In contrast, French and all European dishes in general are seen as fine dining cuisines that are aspirational and deserving of creative entitlement.”

Elégbèdé’s determination to change these perceptions and develop the appreciation of Nigeria’s diverse indigenous cuisine was the catalyst for him to start his own restaurant, Ìtàn Test Kitchen, in 2017. Nestled in a converted apartment in the affluent neighborhood of Ikoyi, Lagos, Ìtàn is where the chef conducts his culinary experiments, devising new interpretations of traditional staples using locally sourced ingredients. For example, rather than serve up garri in the usual pounded and molded dough state called eba, Elégbèdé makes the dried cassava flour into chips instead. Similarly, he transforms amala—a Yoruba food also made from cassava flour or yams—into dumplings.  As Elégbèdé says, it is a “much needed creative deconstructive way of experiencing our food”

Now, at Ìtàn, Elégbèdé offers innovative seasonal menus that change every six to eight weeks and convey the Nigeria’s diverse cultural narratives. For example, the current menu, titled “Festivals”, champions events across the country that celebrate new harvests like the Argungu fishing festival and New Yam festival. Miyan Zogale, a vibrant delicacy made from Moringa leaves which is commonly enjoyed amongst the people of Northern Nigeria, is a stand out dish. Also on the menu is Iru Caviar, a sweet and savory dish made from locust beans stylised into spheres in the form of caviar. Previous menus have included “In Diaspora”, an exploration of the history behind the migration of West African flavours through the transantlantic slave trade, and “Street Food”, in which interpretations of local street classics like Smoked Guinea Fowl, Bolé Flower, and Abacha, were highlighted. A visit to Ìtàn comes at a cost of $200 per head for its set menu. Though on the pricey side, it is consistent with the idea of redefining the view of local cuisine as compelling fine-dining.

“Most of our clientele have been Nigerian,” continues Elégbèdé. “It’s so beautiful having Ìtàn in Lagos because you can see people relate with the food’s in a way that people from other countries wouldn’t be able to. When I say ‘this is our expression of amala and ewedu,’ I don’t have to explain what it is or about the yam drying process. There is a direct reference to the culture.”