Chef Joké Bakare
Joké Bakare in her restaurant, Chishuru, in central London.
  • Joké Bakare once ran a fish-and-chip cart as a student in Nigeria. 
  • After moving to the UK and working in property, she pursued her dream of opening a restaurant. 
  • Bakare runs Chishuru and just became the UK's first Black female Michelin-starred chef.

This as-told-to essay is based on an interview with the founder and chef of Chishuru, Joké Bakare, about pursuing her dream of opening a restaurant. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I had always dreamed of opening my own restaurant one day.

When I was studying biological sciences at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Kaduna, northern Nigeria, I ran a fish-and-chip cart in my spare time.