When I hear the word banquet, what comes to my mind is food, I don’t know about you. Food in Lagos has taken a new look.
Today we have another ‘foodie’ as our #TheInspiredDream. Don’t say I like food too much o. You know it’s true????
Well, today, I have a colleague in the hospitality industry who is contributing his quota to make the industry become bigger delivering quality service.
I first met him at Daystar Business Academy in 2017 where he came to showcase his culinary skills. Join me in welcoming our #TheInspiredDream for this episode who is the Chef Ademola Adelaja of Demmy’s Banquet.
My first question to him was: “why food?” Hear what he had to say:
“I have always been fascinated by food from a young age. During my upbringing, there was no segregation as to what domestic chores male or female children had to do. All domestic chores were rotated amongst myself and siblings. I could say I found solace doing dishes and assisting my mother in the kitchen. Though I didn’t know I would make a career out of it.”
I hope you are not surprised that I asked that question. Well, it’s simple, in the part of the world where I come from, it is believed that the kitchen is for women while men do other things, so to see a man say that his career is doing ‘kitchen things’, the proper thing to do is to ask why.
Chef Ademola always had a dream which he didn’t allow to slip through his hands. He always wanted to work in Cadbury Plc. So right from time, he had always wanted to be in the hospitality industry. By August of this year (2018), Demmy’s Banquet would be officially 2 years old.
Chef Demola has been in the food and hospitality industry for a while only in a different capacities which were not strictly Culinary. He had his childhood like most children of his age and ‘shoe size’.
He says, “education was most paramount to my parents. so it was all about being the best as school. Because of my interest in food, excellence in academics and my initial dream of working with Cadbury Nigeria PLC, I had microbiology as my choice of study in Lagos State University.”
“I got good grades and upon completion, I got an internship with UAC foods, where I worked in the quality control and food safety department. I also worked as an Operations Manager at an advertising firm. Afterwards about a year, I proceeded for my postgraduate studies in Food Microbiology at Bowen University”.
Demmy’s interest in cooking grew as time went on. His friends would insist that he was the one to cook. At that point in time, he didn’t know that he was going to divert from quality control in manufacturing companies to go fully into cooking meals.
I dare say Chef Ademola is good at what he does. His clientele is gradually increasing. He has been able to get some recognition with his tv shoots and even cooked for a couple of celebrities like Femi and Yeni Anikulapo Kuti, Uncle Ben of Project Fame, Timi Dakolo, Emma Nyra to mention a few.
Demmy’s Banquet does both Continental and Nigerian dishes to perfection. They also do starters, desserts and cocktails.
Hear him speak: “Demmys Banquet is aspiring to be the best at providing gourmet meals, be it social or corporate gatherings or private events.”
“However, on the long run, we want to grow bigger and go global once the cooking arm is stable. We have plans to move into production as well (spices, seasonings, dipping sauces and all that). I have a masters degree in food microbiology for a reason. and also a culinary degree, so it’s about combining both interests as well as going into television fully”
He sure does have a lot of plans. Presently he works from home, however he is currently putting in place a proper office and standard kitchen setup which is in partnership with another brand.
Demmy’s Banquet does strictly social and corporate events as catering services for now. They would be starting training very soon.
When Ademola is not cooking, he must be traveling (visiting new cities). He also loves hanging out with friends and watching sports. He has been to a couple of states in Nigeria and South Africa, but his dream destination is Paris.
Here’s his advice to the average African out there: “there’s never an easier route to achieving success than putting your best in whatever your hand commits to. be diligent, work extra smart, trust God and things will fall in place.”
Thanks for reading, hope you are Inspired. Kindly share this post and drop your comments below.
I remain yours truly,
Leke Ademo
#CelebrityInterviewer
