Michael Elégbèdé

Michael Elégbèdé, a third-generation chef between Lagos and New York

Michael Elégbèdé is a third-generation chef who continues the culinary tradition of his mother and grandmother, both professional cooks. He trained at the Culinary Institute of America in Greystone and worked in some of the most acclaimed restaurants in the United States. His approach combines classical technique with a vocation for telling stories through food.

Research and revival of West African cuisine

His career is defined by the purpose of honoring the nameless guardians of indigenous West African knowledge. That interest emerged during extensive research across Nigeria and other parts of the region, in which he sought to preserve and highlight ancestral culinary traditions.

ÌTÀN Test Kitchen, a culinary atelier in Lagos

In 2019 he opened ÌTÀN Test Kitchen, presented by the chef himself as the most acclaimed culinary experiential space in West Africa. More than a restaurant, ÌTÀN works as an atelier where local ingredients, ancestral wisdom, and modern techniques converge to craft narratives about Africa's modernity and history.

A bridge between West Africa and its diaspora

Elégbèdé presents himself as a global ambassador for West African cuisine and draws on his experience in the United States and Africa to bridge the culinary narratives of the region and its diaspora, with the aim of fostering greater understanding and appreciation of that culinary heritage.

A presence between New York and Lagos

The chef's activity revolves around two locations: New York and Lagos.