Chef-Owner, ÌTÀN; Lagos, Nigeria

Michael Elégbèdé ’13 is a Nigerian American chef born in Lagos and educated in the United States. He studied at The Culinary Institute of America-Greystone and then worked at prestigious restaurants across the country such as the acclaimed Eleven Madison Park Restaurant in NYC before moving back to Nigeria, where he currently resides. There, Chef dedicates his energy to learning and rediscovering indigenous ingredients and cuisines around the country. The premise of ÌTÀN (the test kitchen Chef opened in Lagos) is simple: to tell the story of Nigerian cuisine through Chef’s perspective through the usage of locally sourced ingredients with the application of both ancient and modern culinary methods. ÌTÀN uses a fine dining approach to portray Nigerian cuisine in a way that has never been seen before to Nigeria’s contemporary cultural centre, the city of Lagos. His work was honored recently with his addition to the hospitality category of 50 Next, a list of young people shaping the future of gastronomy. @michael_elegbede