A Dream is Born

April 17th, 2010. My baby was born. For years I’d wondered when this would come to pass, if it would come to pass. I had been carrying this dream for a long time and I finally kicked it into existence and had a little gathering to welcome it. It didn’t take very long to give it a nickname, HBK. HBK which stands for Honeybee’s Kitchen, is the medium through which I plan on bringing my dream of showcasing African food especially Nigerian food in the most creative and delicious way. Gourmet and African are not always two words that people necessarily put together. I don’t know of many people who think it’s possible to make Nigerian dishes “fancy”, probably because they don’t think anyone will go for it. Personally I believe that all African countries have wonderful foods with amazing colors, textures and flavors just waiting to be introduced to the world. I don’t think of what I do as 'trying to make it fancy' but more as dressing it up and bringing it to the forefront; so that someone, anyone who might have any misgivings about trying it out, would strongly reconsider. Also, I think there are many Africans who would love to see a marriage of the different cuisines, cultures and flavors of Africa; and see it presented in the most beautiful form and of course, eat it too.

I called on some people to come over to my place and give me feedback on some of the recipes I’d been toying with in my head. I really wondered if anyone would find the things I’d dreamed up appealing, and I was dying for an opportunity to find out. So I embarked on creating a five course meal and a cocktail that highlighted some of my favorite Nigerian meals and memories.

This was the menu I eventually came up with:

Cocktail: Sweetcheeks - Grapefruit juice and Vodka cocktail

First Course: The Danielle – Suya Sliders

Second Course: Modupe’s Moin-Moin – A rendition of a classic named after my mother

Third Course: Olumo Rock – A rendition of a popular dish of pounded yam and Efo-riro

Fourth Course: Eko Bangkok – A fusion of two cultures, Nigerian and Thai. Pan-seared chicken in fried stew with Basil Fried Rice

Fifth Course: The Nneka – A dessert of tapioca served over brandy infused tropical fruits

As excited as I was to put this meal together, I couldn’t help but think to myself, "you are ABSOLUTELY crazy for trying to do all of this in one day in your home kitchen". However thanks to the support of some wonderful people, I was able to make all the courses. I also found that I made a lot of people happy by bringing a fun mix of personalities together over a meal of surprises.

I’m sharing some pictures from the dinner. This served as a kick-off event for a small venture I’m launching to take on small gourmet catering venture, that will focus mainly on African cuisine and taking it to the next level. I will share my contact details shortly for people interested in getting their small events catered by Honeybee’s Kitchen.

Enjoy!

Humble beginnings

Welcome to Honeybee's Kitchen

Take a card or two

Setting up the living room for the launch

Ladies chatting it up as we wait for everyone to arrive

The making of Sweetcheeks by Sweetcheeks

The Sweetcheeks cocktail

 Dinner gets underway... 

The Danielle

The Second Course named after my momma

A deconstructed classic

The third course: A tribute to Olumo Rock

The fourth course: Eko Bangkok

 East by way of Thailand meets West, Western Nigeria that is...

Fifth Course: Dessert named 'The Nneka'

Sweetness that packs a punch

 Lade aka Sweetcheeks ~ The inspiration behind 'Sweetcheeks'

Danielle ~ The inspiration behind 'The Danielle'

Nneka ~ The inspiration behind 'The Nneka'