Going from street food to fine dining in Lagos

Food prepared by Pierre Thiam at Nok By Alara, a restaurant in Victoria Island district of Lagos. [Photo/AFP]

Chemistry to cooking

Oyegun and Folayemi Agusto, better known as "Nosa and Folly," run an influential food blog "Eat. Drink. Lagos", where they review restaurants across the city.

Both in their 30s, they are among several thousand "repats"－people who have returned to Nigeria after studying overseas－living in Lagos.

The well-traveled returnees want Nigerian food but with the same level of service they experienced abroad.

Since Oyegan came back to Lagos in 2013, many restaurants have opened catering to the emerging middle class in Nigeria.

But amid the barrage of pizza shops and burger joints, few restaurants have tried to capitalise on local cuisine.

It's a taboo Thiam finds ludicrous.

"Across the continent, there is a plethora of ingredients that are nutritious and full of flavor," says Thiam, a tall, loquacious man wearing brown metal glasses and a white chef's shirt embroidered with his name.

"And then we have techniques to be developed. Today we talk about fermentation but we have known about it for thousands of years," he says.

A chemist by training, Thaim said he didn't think he could turn his passion for cooking into a full-time job.