“I believe we make the greatest impact on our world when we do what we love.”
A native of Nigeria and third generation chef, Michael Adé Elégbèdé started his journey in the kitchen at a very young age when he was exposed to his mother’s and grandmother’s work running local restaurants that also served as cooking schools for young women.
“ My grandma learnt baking under a French chef during the colonial period of Nigeria and my mother learnt under her and eventually went to the Cordon Bleu School in Chicago.”
Although he began his career studying sciences at The University of Illinois at Chicago, Elégbèdé answered his calling when he decided to enroll at the Culinary Institute of America Graystone.
“Unlike most of my classmates, I was the blank slate and that really helped me, I was just absorbing everything - I didn’t come with any preconceptions or assumptions. The more I learnt, the more in love I was with cooking.”
To fortify his knowledge, Elégbèdé worked with some of the most remarkable chefs across America including the renowned Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park and Nomad Restaurant.
In a journey to find his true Identity as a chef, Elégbèdé was compelled to return to his country of origin after 13 years to explore the diverse cultures and traditions that make up the Nigerian cuisine. He spent a good portion of the time traveling to the more remote areas of the country, experiencing, documenting, and learning the unique nature of their cuisine and ingredients.
Chef Elégbèdé extensive history of building bridges between worlds in the culinary industry while clearly articulating the vision he sees for this space in Nigeria is reflected through all aspects of the work he does.