Whatever your whisky love story is, we’re curious: how do you choose your drink? Are you team tested-and-trusted, or, are you open to trying new brands?  If you’re in the latter category, how do you decide what new brand to try out? Do you just glance through the label and follow your gut? Or are you drawn more by what your eyes can see?

While there may be no right or wrong way to make a decision, Sotheby’s has a guide that can give you an idea of what a bottle of whisky would taste like even before it hits your tongue. And even if you belong to the tried-and-trusted gang, it does not hurt to know that, should you decide to be more adventurous in the future, there is a foolproof guide to making the best decision quickly.

Now that that’s out of the way, here’s what to know

Whisky or whiskey? The spelling matters!

Not in a pedantic sort of way. However, there is a difference that is beyond the spelling. If it’s American or Irish, it’ll be ‘whiskey’. If it’s from Scotland, Canada or Japan, that will be ‘whisky.’

But the difference doesn’t end there. American and Scottish whiskeys are distilled twice while their Irish cousins go through distillation three times. That’s why they are also so smooth and buttery-soft.

Location too!

Of course, where a drink comes from determines how it tastes. The originating region influences the style, flavour and colour of every whisky. There are three classic regions in this regard: Scotland, Ireland, and America. All scotch comes from Scotland (of course) and must have been aged for at least three years. Irish whiskey is made from malted or unmalted barley and is typically triple-distilled, resulting in a characteristically smooth taste.

Whiskey from America’s South – which by the way is referred to as Bourbon –  is notable for its slight sweetness and richness and is made from a mash containing at least 51% corn, aged in charred wooden barrels (cypress or oak) and bottled at no less than 80% proof.

Japan is another notable player in the world of whiskies, although it does not have a long provenance like the other regions. The Asian country produces scotch-inspired whiskies that tend to be lighter (both in flavour and colour) with a slightly fruity taste.

Casks are important …

Casks are a crucial part of whisky production, as they are used in its storage and maturation. The type of wood used, and how said wood is treated imparts a distinct flavour on this deliciously golden liquid.

Casks are traditionally made from oak sourced from Europe and America, and in the United States, they are charred to remove traces of previous use and imbue the fluid with a rich flavour. Once the whisky is distilled (in a large device called a potstill), it’s poured into these wooden vessels for maturation. The length of time spent in the cask is noted on bottles as the whisky’s age.

Also, whisky distillers may state whether the casks are ‘first-fill’ or ‘refill’. A ‘first-fill’ cask is one that has never been used and will therefore transfer the most flavour from wood to spirit. A refill is just what it sounds like – a previously used cask. Refills are often used to balance and adjust mellowness in whiskeys initially seasoned in first-fills.

Sherry-seasoned casks are also commonplace, the wood imbuing a mild flavouring of the sweet wine to the whisky.

… As are the ABV and age of the particular bottle you’re looking to purchase

ABV, alcohol by volume, tells you what percentage of alcohol each whisky contains, while age indicates the amount of time the whisky spent maturing in the cask.

The average ABV for whiskies is 40-50 per cent. Scotch, by law, must have a minimum ABV of 40 per cent, while special ‘expressions’ ( whisky-speak for limited variations, or special editions) often boast of higher percentages. Special expressions are typically stronger, more complex in taste and, in some cases, bottled directly from the cask with no added water.

Some whiskies spend their entire lives in a single cask, with distillers regularly tasting to achieve the right flavours. However, the usual method is to move them from cask to cask during the maturation cycle to balance or shift their flavours. Age corresponds to a whiskey’s richness: the longer the maturing process, the longer the flavours have to develop. This doesn’t mean that younger vintages aren’t flavourful, but typically, they will likely be less complex.

And finally, mash, peat and smoke

You’re more likely to hear the word ‘mash’ from distillers than you are to see it on a bottle of whisky. Mash is the mixture of grains used to create the whiskey, with malted barley being the most typical grain used. There’s also corn and rye, and, depending on the region and variation, wheat.

Peat is primarily used in Scotch whiskey from the Northern Isles. It typically refers to a distinct, earthy, smoky flavour that is achieved when peat is used to dry malted barley as part of the whisky’s production. The length and intensity of exposure to the peat smoke will determine just how smoky the final product will be.

And there you have it. So, the next time you want to try a new bottle of whisky, maybe instead of trusting your gut, thoroughly read the label to make the right decision for you.

Source: Sotheby’s

The post What to Look Out For on The Label Before Purchasing a Bottle of Whisky first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The post What to Look Out For on The Label Before Purchasing a Bottle of Whisky appeared first on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

This is not surprising, especially when you consider their versatility and what they are used for. For example, what is the main ingredient of your favourite cocktail? Your answer would most likely be a spirit or liqueur, which well, is a type of spirit!

It does not automatically mean other alcoholic beverages aren’t as useful. Vermouth has been used by mixologists for years, and recently, more wineries are encouraging and promoting wine cocktails as a better alcoholic option for those who cannot stomach high levels of alcohol. Beer cocktails are also a thing, as a quick Google search will reveal.

However, spirits appear to offer a more diverse range of cocktail options. This may be attributed to the fact that they have been used for so long in this area that a robust range of recipes and experimentation abound. It also helps that at its core, a spirit – be it a gin or rum or whisky – is an uncomplicated alcoholic beverage, making it perfect for whatever concoction you’re looking to put together. Lastly, compared to wines, they are more affordable, which means more people can have access to them.

Including here in Africa, where it is isn’t only used for cocktails, but for ceremonies and religious events. Spirits have been produced for more than a hundred years now across several countries in Africa, yet surprisingly, they are not as popular as others from beyond the continent.

If you love mixing up a good cocktail or would rather take a bottle of gin or vodka or rum above other types of alcoholic drinks, here are some premium, made-in-Africa brands to immediately try out, that is, if you haven’t already!

Pedro’s Ogogoro, Nigeria

Pedro’s Ogogoro is arguably one of the more popular spirits out of Africa, so there is a pretty high chance that you’ve tasted it or heard about it. Per Lola Pedro, one of its co-founders, Ogogoro is “a palm spirit from palm wine” not a gin, nor a rum, nor vodka.

During Nigeria’s colonial era, Ogogoro was associated with illicit and badly-produced alcohol. These days, it is used to refer to any cheap, badly-produced alcohol with a high ABV sold by roadsides all over Nigeria at least. In reality, neither one of these is what Ogogoro is.

Pedro’s is not only on a mission to change this narrative but is also eager to make this locally-produced alcoholic beverage a worldwide phenomenon.

Aphro Palm Spirit, Ghana

Like Pedro’s, Aphro is an alcoholic spirit made from the sap of palm trees. In fact, it is the same as Nigeria’s Ogogoro, only that in Ghana, it is known as Akpeteshie.

Just like its Nigerian brother, Akpeteshie was turned into a villainous, poisonous drink during the colonial era to push the sale of imported spirits.

Aphro is also trying to correct this misnomer, and if you’re looking to try something different yet familiar, then look no further than the Aphro Palm Spirit which comes in two flavours: the Nubi which is a mix of flamed pineapple, tropical passion fruit and a little West African honey, and, the Moor which mixes local ginger, spices and Hwentia pepper to make a spicy, robust delightful beverage.

Vusa Vodka, South Africa

Vusa Vodka is the brainchild of Chris Frederick and Damola Timeyin, the duo behind Spearhead Spirits which also produces Bayab Gin.

Unlike Pedro and Aphro, Spearhead Spirits is not so much about promoting original locally-developed alcoholic beverages as it is focused on proving that the continent is just as capable of making internationally acclaimed drinks as its counterparts.

Vusa Vodka is made from sugarcane grown in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, and distilled in small batches in copper pot stills. It is then filtered through the shells of the baobab fruit before bottling to give it a clean, crisp finish.

Waragi Wildcrane, Uganda

The name ‘Waragi’ has some interesting history. According to sources, its original name wasn’t Waragi; although what that was is not immediately clear. The recipe for the alcoholic drink was passed on from generation to generation and, all over Uganda, it was the favoured drink for both the rich and poor.

When the colonisers came, they noticed that Ugandans would immediately bring out this spirit during periods of victory and celebration. And so they nicknamed it ‘war gin’. As with most things, war gin was soon localised to ‘Waragi’, which has now become the official name of the ancient local Ugandan drink made from a mix of any of the following: bananas, millet, cassava or sugarcane.

Unlike Nigeria’s Ogogoro, Waragi is widely produced and consumed in Uganda, and several distilleries making premium, standard Waragi exist. One such is the Kakira distillery whose Wildcrane Premium Gin uses the Waragi recipe in its formulation. What is this recipe exactly? We don’t know, but, judging by the fact that its other spirits have won international awards, it may be safe to say that this is possibly the Waragi you should add to your spirits portfolio.

Tambour Sodabi, Benin Republic

Sodabi is to Benin, as Akpeteshie is to Ghana, and Koutoukou is to Côte d’Ivoire. But unlike the others, the Beninese can actually trace the history of their Sodabi to its humble beginnings.

Per Tambour, it all started when Bonou Kiti Sodabi, a Beninese soldier, went to Europe to fight in WW1. There, he saw how the distillation process worked, and upon his return to his country, teamed up with his brother, Gbehlaton, to produce Sodabi using the popular palm wine as their main material after an initial failed experiment with bananas.

By 1920, Sodabi had become widespread and its popularity only continued to grow, leading the colonialists to ban its production and sale in 1931. The Sodabi brothers were even arrested, but this did nothing. As in other countries and civilisations of the world, prohibition only led to secret manufacture and sales.

In 1975, fifteen years after its independence, Benin officially lifted the prohibition against Sodabi. Today, Tambour Sodabi is perhaps the best-known palm spirit from the country, having won international awards twice now. You can choose between its two distinct flavours: the spiced Sodabi and its recently launched brother, White Sodabi.

The post Here are Some of Africa’s Finest Spirits You Should Know. Plus, Their Storied Histories! first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The post Here are Some of Africa’s Finest Spirits You Should Know. Plus, Their Storied Histories! appeared first on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

With recent events, however, it seems that this is set to change, and it has got us wondering: is 2023 the year of the Nigerian cuisine global takeover?

Can African dishes be considered haute cuisine?

When we say haute cuisine, the focus is less on the classic French definition as it is on the dishes that incorporate its principles.

Back to the question above, you would probably say yes, but the reality is different. Most top culinary schools do not focus on African foods and ingredients, and, even when they do, there is usually no in-depth exploration of their capabilities. It is probably why African dishes are not considered fine dining, and also why you may be hard-pressed to find restaurants, whether top or mid-range, that include them in their menus.

Yet, as chefs like Chef Moyo and dining establishments like the Itan Test Kitchen are showing, our African dishes are as haute cuisine as they come, and it is only a lack of knowledge about their possibilities that has restricted their reach and adoption by non-African and even African chefs.

Until now.

Hilda Baci and the making of a world record

When Hilda Baci decided 5 years ago to break the Guinness World Record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual, her goals were simple: “Put Nigerian cuisine on the map [and] … inspire young African women to chase their dreams.”

Not even she could have fathomed the reach her cook-athon would have: by day 2, her official cook-athon handle announced that over 1 million people had live-streamed the event. On day 3, not only had it started streaming on DSTV, a popular satellite TV service in Africa but organisers also had to close the gates of the venue to visitors as it had reached full capacity.

yeah, so this is our best performing tweet of all time with nearly 25 million news feeds reached https://t.co/iGBDw0qdLK

— Guinness World Records (@GWR) June 15, 2023

Upon announcing that she had indeed broken the record, Guinness World Records received so much traffic that they confirmed that their Twitter post announcing her win was their “best-performing tweet of all time,” and also that their “website crashed for two days due to the immense volume of traffic … received from her legion of loyal fans.”

It is safe to assume that the popularity of this single event has definitely caught the attention of chefs from other parts of the world, enough to pique their interest and set them on a path of discovering and exploring African dishes and ingredients.

Chuku’s Nigerian Tapas Restaurant: from Beyoncé’s approval to global dining stage

For Beyoncé, giving a grant to the businesses around the venues of her ongoing Renaissance tour was her way of saying thank you to the communities that welcomed her and showered her with so much love. For Chuku’s, a Nigerian tapas restaurant in north London, the $10,000 grant was the beginning of a new chapter, one that afford them the opportunity to introduce Nigerian cuisine to the world.

Chuku’s is owned and run by siblings Emeka and Ifeyinwa Frederick. It started off as a pop-up in 2016, and following years of success, the siblings decided it was time to move into a building, a decision they actualised in February 2020.

Sadly, their opening coincided with the global coronavirus-induced lockdown, and, in spite of the love they received from their community, they soon began to grapple with soaring costs and shrinking disposable income among their customer base. The struggle to keep their doors open was on, and, by the end of 2022, it was clear that they were running (an increasingly lost race) against time.

And then, the Renaissance Tour came along.

Ahead of her highly-publicised tour, Beyoncé, through her BEYGOOD foundation, had announced that small businesses in cities along her world tour could apply for the Black Parade Route initiative, a fund that highlights and supports small Black-owned businesses. One of the cities was London, and even better, the concert took place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 782 High Road, a few kilometres from Chuku’s 274 High Road address.

Entering the last 6 months of the year after a media STORM >>

ICYMI, news that @Beyonce’s @BeyGOOD foundation has awarded us $10,000 created a bit of a media frenzy last week – with our sibling co-founders @efrederick90 & @Ifey_Frederick featured in a whirlwind of interviews pic.twitter.com/7bv3CAUGOp

— Chuku’s (@chukusLDN) July 5, 2023

The Fredricks wasted no time in taking advantage of this opportunity: they applied for the grant before its April 27 deadline, and quickly spread the word that they would be open even past their normal hours to cater to the Renaissance crowd, encouraging the latter to pre-book and creating a healthy feeling of FOMO around their service.

Their efforts paid off. They sold out their tables, secured the £8000 grant and dominated the headlines of major media outlets in the UK and the US. With the publicity they received, they now have a bigger customer base beyond their local community and the UK.

2023: the breakout year for Nigerian/African cuisine?

It may be a bit of a stretch to think that 2 Nigerian culinary brands whose efforts have drawn more attention to African cuisine translates to global adoption and acceptance. But, this is an excellent step in that direction, and, because of their achievements and those of countless others who continue to introduce our dishes to people of other cultures, 2023 might just be the year you walk into the Waldorf Astoria in say, Dubai, and staring right back at you on the menu is a dish of amala rolls dipped in spicy gbegiri and tomato soup, and topped with mint leaves.

The post Is 2023 The Breakout Year for Nigerian Cuisine? first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The post Is 2023 The Breakout Year for Nigerian Cuisine? appeared first on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The LV Luxury Lifestyle

Louis Vuitton has definitely come a long way from its not-so-humble beginnings making trunks for the ultra-wealthy. In addition to its fashion apparel and gadgets, the French brand recently added a café and chocolate shop to its offerings and announced that it is building its first-ever hotel and its largest-ever store at its headquarters in Paris.

This latest project, the first-ever Louis Vuitton luxury lounge, is expanding the brand’s appellation of ‘all-round luxury lifestyle brand’ to a whole new level.

Per media reports, the seemingly LV monogram-shaped lounge sits above an already-existing LV store at the airport and occupies the same space with other luxury stores including Bvlgari, Omega and Fendi, as well as luxury-branded dining establishments like the Emporio Armani Caffee and Harrod’s Tearoom.

Inside, premium passengers can expect to see a tastefully-designed space with designer furnishings from renowned names like the India Mahdavi low tables and the Costela armchairs by Martin Eisler. And, when they are feeling peckish, an LV-branded restaurant, serving Qatari-influenced dishes via a menu created by the three-star Michelin Chef Yannick Alleno,  is onsite to satisfy their cravings.

So, the next time you’re passing through the Hamad International Airport, be sure to drop by the Louis Vuitton luxury lounge and enjoy a tastefully-prepared meal that may include any of Qatar’s well-known spices including cinnamon, cardamom, saffron, nuts, limes, cumin, cloves, and dried apricots. But, just in case you’re not hungry, you can shop in the LV store below or explore all the other luxury stores that call the HIA home.

The post The First-Ever Louis Vuitton Luxury Lounge Opens at The Hamad International Airport, Qatar first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The post The First-Ever Louis Vuitton Luxury Lounge Opens at The Hamad International Airport, Qatar appeared first on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

But, challenges are never-ending, which is why it would always be a great idea to take advantage of special days to celebrate love, whatever that means to you and whether or not you choose to direct it to someone other than a romantic partner.

So maybe this year’s Valentine’s day may not be the perfect moment for extravagance, but it is definitely a superb time to celebrate the most enduring and universal emotion ever. And, to help you indulge in the beauty of love on this special day, our edit this year is on food, a theme that is just as universal and important.

If, like us, you believe a romantic meal is the best way to say ‘I love you’, check out these delicious ideas curated specially for you

Celebrate your love with The Atije Experience

Chef Moyo is no stranger to ASPIRE, and for good reason. For the Swiss-trained chef, cooking – and by extension, food – is a journey and one she is clearly not afraid to go on.

According to Chef Moyo, the Atije table is where new connections are made and old ones renewed. But for those of us who have sat at it, the table is an expression of love — love of good food and a deep-seated love for the dishes that have nurtured us from birth.

If you’re looking to celebrate your love over a 5-course meal that offers you an experience of Nigerian food like no other, book a seat at Ayanfe, the Atije’s special culinary pop-up for the month of February.

Express love with the chocolate packages from Chocolate Works Gourmet

What do you get when you combine ‘love’ and ‘food’ together?

Chocolate. Yes, we know that it isn’t food food, but the answer nonetheless is chocolates.

This Valentine’s day, express your love in the most creative and sweetest, most decadent,  way possible with a chocolatey-themed gift box from Chocolate Works Gourmet by Chef Oyin. And if you’re feeling a bit more festive, there is the option of adding fresh roses to your order.

Trust us, it does not get more Valentine-y than that!

Spoon Catering

It may not be a destination Valentine for you and your loved one this season, but you can explore different cultures with Spoon Catering Valentine’s menu.

From its shredded duck vegetable wrap to its goat meat & jollof rice croquettes and its charcoal buttermilk chicken roll nori mayonnaise, there is something in each plate promising an experience that transcends whatever location you would be having the meal at.

Although it says February 12^th is the last day for orders, you may check with them here to see if there would be an extension or a suitable alternative.

The post ASPIRE Velentine’s Edit: Say ‘I Love You’ with Deliciously Decadent Dishes first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The post ASPIRE Velentine’s Edit: Say ‘I Love You’ with Deliciously Decadent Dishes appeared first on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

Only recently, Emirates obtained exclusive rights to serve top champagne on its flights; specifically bubblies from Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot and Dom Pérignon. This contract means that from 2023 to 2024, Emirates would be the only commercial airline offering champagnes from these brands. Dom Perignon will be served in first class across all routes globally; Veuve Clicquot will be served in business class on routes to the Americas and Europe, and, Moët & Chandon will be offered in business class on routes to Africa, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific, including Australasia. Passengers in economy would also be able to purchase Moët & Chandon champagnes if they want.

No doubt, being the only airline to serve these top champagnes would increase the value of Emirates’ premium cabin. So far, Emirates has worked hard to ensure that its premium passengers enjoy the best bubblies: its Business Lounge in Dubai boasts a special Moet & Chandon bar and its unique wine cellar in France reportedly houses up to 6.5 million bottles that has allowed it to serve rare wines such as the Dom Pérignon Vintage 2003 Plenitude 2 on select routes.

For now, other airlines would have to contend with serving premium champagnes from other houses onboard while they work to include attractive luxury options in other categories like onboard amenity kits and even the meals served in-flight. Their wine list is no less remarkable — Qatar Airways serves Krug 2004 champagne in its first class while Etihad offers Champagne Charles Heidsieck, Blanc des Millénaires 2004 in its own first class. Air France serves passengers Piper-Heidsieck 2006 Rare Millésime Champagne in its premier cabin while those in economy can enjoy a drink from the Fleur de Champagne Brut 1er Cru, the signature cuvée of a family-owned and independent wine producer since 1859.

But in the end, none of these champagnes are a Dom Pérignon or a Veuve Clicquot or even a Moët & Chandon. And having exclusive rights to serve them onboard has definitely put Emirates ahead. For now at least.

The post Emirates ups the ‘Flight Game’ with its In-Flight Exclusive Champagne Rights first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

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The study that made the discovery

Xiaying Li, a researcher at Wuhan University of Science and Technology, alongside his colleagues, reviewed 19 studies, which included more than 1 million adults across 8 countries. They found out that the more cups of tea a person consumed daily, the more benefits they recorded. For example, participants in the study who drank one to three cups daily had a 4% drop in their risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Those who consumed more per day had a higher percentage drop.

In a separate study published in August, researchers found that drinking two or more cups of black tea per day lowered the overall risk of death by 9% to 13% among 498,000 people in the U.K. during a 14-year period, as compared with those who drank no tea. The study also found a link between drinking multiple cups of tea per day and a lower risk of heart disease and stroke.

Are all teas equal then?

Short answer: yes.

The researchers believe that the polyphenols they contain, which are naturally-occurring compounds in plants with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, are the reason why tea can help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and even heart disease and stroke.

Since all teas — with the exception of decaffeinated teas — have polyphenols, then it does not matter what type you choose to have: as long as you’re taking several cups daily, you are sure to reap its benefits.

But, if you are really particular, then the Wush Wush green tea which originates from Ethiopia has the highest polyphenol content. But, we cannot all have access to this type, so really, whether you love black tea, green tea, or oolong, at least 3 cups a day can help keep diabetes (type II) at bay.

Does it matter how you have your tea?

Maki Inoue-Choi, PhD, a staff scientist at the National Cancer Institute told NBC News that she and her colleagues found that adding milk or sugar did nothing to reduce the health benefits of teas. She however noted that the participants tended to use those ingredients sparingly.

“The sweetened tea from the store has a lot more sugar,” she said. “We should still follow the dietary guidelines to avoid too much sugar and too much saturated fat.”

Should we all be drinking more tea then?

If you already love drinking tea, then increasing your daily dose should not be a problem. And it does not hurt to take up tea drinking as a hobby if it isn’t already a part of your lifestyle.

However, it is not mandatory. And since more research would need to be carried out to back up the conclusion of existing studies, then drinking several cups of tea a day to reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes and improve your overall well-being is not so much an order as it is a suggestion.

The post We may all need to ‘Spill the Tea’ for a Healthier and Diabetes-Free Life first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The post We may all need to ‘Spill the Tea’ for a Healthier and Diabetes-Free Life appeared first on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

“What is Nigerian food exactly? I cannot say that I know. And that is the beauty of our cuisine. We have over 250 ethnic groups, and that means we have over 250 methods of cooking. It might be [that the] asaro from Ijebu is different from [the] asaro in Abeokuta. And those variations really open us up … and it also shows our similarities. We all eat native rice, we all eat zobo, (sic) we all eat asaro in different ways.”

“Nigerians, I think in some ways we can have a sense of unity but when it comes to our food, we can be a bit tribalistic. People are like, ‘Ah! Me I don’t eat amala: what is that black Yoruba food?’ You might think it is not your food, but have you tried it? Have you truly experienced it?”

I first met chef Moyo at the premier Atije Experience pop-up back in May. Like other diners, I was shocked to see everyday dishes take on new forms and different food items, that I would have sworn before that day could not be eaten together, appear on the same plate. For example, the sweet potato puree and the egusi. I have seen the odd mix – egusi and white rice, egusi and bread – but uziza-flavoured egusi and sweet potato puree? That was a definitely first, and the main reason why the Atije Experience exists.

“I think one of our primary goals is just to encourage Nigerians to enjoy our food in different ways. I think Nigerian, West African food, we kind of relegate it to home food, celebration food, but it is not like special food, it is not like fine dining,” explains chef Moyo. “It is like we can all cook rice, we can all do this, but I think it’s opening our minds – including myself – to see that Nigerian food has more potential.”

Since Awari, Ms Odunfa has gone on to host two other food tasting events – Asiri and Ajowa. For now, she is focused on these pop-ups, which happen every 4-6 weeks, rather than on opening or running a traditional restaurant. “I guess in a sense, [what I do] is not very common, but I think it is something that a lot of chefs do. Even if I were to open a restaurant, I don’t think it would be typical. I think I would still want to do like a set menu. We might have different types of set menus, maybe for different days, or maybe like lunch versus dinner … but I don’t think it will be the regular ‘oh, let’s choose something off the menu.’ I think we would still use this concept because I really enjoy doing it.”

Moyo may have fallen into some sort of routine for the culinary pop-ups at the Atije Experience, but the challenges she faces in bringing people together to discover Nigerian food in a whole new way have not abated in any way.

“Nigerians, we love our food [but] if I can just get people to come, that is usually the major [challenge]: convince people to just come. Once they come, we [can] have beautiful experiences together and … show [them] what we do. Because people can be a bit dismissive of Nigerian food like ‘Ah, we know it, we don’t want to go out and eat it.’ So, truly being able to convince people that this is a worthwhile experience for [them is] just something.”

“[In terms of putting together the menu for each experience] having to do a new menu every month can be challenging, it can be interesting, it can be exciting and balance is very key for us. And that is another thing that can be a bit tricky because … let me use Ajowa as an example. To me, I think when we think of asaro, a lot of times, we eat it with fish – smoked fish, dried fish. But initially, I wanted to do the dish with chicken because I wanted to use fish for the main course. But we had to switch that around because we realised that no, this dish is simply eaten with seafood, so we had to keep that there and change the main course to accentuate that. So, even when we start off thinking that this is what we want to do, we realise that no, there has to be balance, everything has to flow. You cannot give people a palate cleanser and then a very spicy and overpowering dessert – the palate cleanser would have had no effect at the end of the day. So, we really try and make sure that everything … makes sense even as a person is eating it.”

“[Lastly], having the faith to put out that menu actually [is another challenge we face]. Because, if I use Ajowa as an example again, the desert was zobo. And it went through so many iterations because we really tried … at the beginning, it kinda tasted like a palate cleanser because zobo can be very light, and we were thinking, ‘ok, how do we make this a dessert? Something that people would actually, you know, want to relish and it’s sweet and all that.’ And, even after the dessert was done, I wasn’t sure that it was the right thing. And people loved it! I couldn’t even believe it! So sometimes, it’s really just that courage to believe that what we’re doing is good enough. What we’re doing is worthy of being experienced. As much as I believe in Nigerian food … there’s a difference between ok I believe in Nigerian food and I believe in my own Nigerian food. Having that faith to say I am putting this out, and I am going to believe that people would enjoy it. I am going to make sure that it is good enough to be enjoyed. And I think with every menu – even menus that we have done before – sometimes it’s just to click that button to say ‘post’ that can be a daunting moment but so far so good, we’re making it work.”

But in the end, the entire process appears to be paying off on both sides. “I think people have been surprised. Sometimes when people come, they’re sceptical. And they say, ‘let’s just go, sebi it’ll be a nice time.’ [But they] are surprised at the amount of networking they have there at that long table because it can be daunting. [But] the ice actually breaks over time, and [they] are surprised that the food tastes how it tastes. Because, they think, you know, in Nigerian restaurants there is a lot of hype. There is a lot of glitz and glamour, and the food might not actually meet up to your expectations. So people are actually surprised that [the] food is actually nice, [it] tells a story and they learn. They go home with new information about Nigerian food. ‘Oh, I didn’t that that dawadawa and iru were the same. I did not know that native rice, Abakaliki rice is also the same as ofada rice but not just fermented’ So that knowledge really really makes a difference, I think.”

“I have [also] learnt a lot! I have learned the importance of having a full overview of this kind of event [which] has been really important. Because for me, I am a chef, but doing this kind of thing, I have to wear so many more hats: to be a sommelier and think about wine pairings; to be an events planner; to be logistics [manager] … everything, too many moving parts at every time and it has taught me the importance of teamwork.”

“When it comes to the kitchen, honestly speaking, it has taught me that there is really no boundaries. This last Ajowa menu, we were trying to play on ileya and ram, and we had to buy a whole ram, so that we could control the parts of the ram that we were cooking. And that for me was something I would have felt afraid of before, but once you set your mind to something, truly truly – and it might sound cliché – but you’ll do it if you have to do it and that just gives you more boldness and courage to do it another time.”

Chef Moyo may be intentional about reintroducing us to our food in ways we did not think possible, but for her, the Atije Experience is deeper than that. The Atije table is the foundation of relationships. And the success it has recorded so far has actually amazed her.

“The networking has surprised me. When people sit on a table, sometimes we’re really privileged to have someone who is like a very engaging person and just draws everybody in. I don’t know, especially Fridays, Fridays can be so … they don’t even want to listen to me talk anymore: they’re talking to each other, they’re sharing about their careers. One time, someone was even playing their song because she was like a musician. I’m so encouraged when I see everyone truly just connecting. And there was even a person who said someone was sitting opposite him at one dinner and he didn’t say a word throughout dinner and he thought ok, he didn’t really want to talk. Later on, he sent a message on LinkedIn saying, I met you here, I would like to connect. You know, and those things, they really, I don’t even know how to say it, they really bring me joy because … that thing of, we’re actually eating together. We can all sit on one table from different walks of life, different tribes, different languages, different cultures. We can all eat together and it has an effect on all of our lives afterwards.”

At the moment, chef Moyo is planning a new pop-up that is set to happen from the 23^rd to the 25^th of September. And this time, the experience is a bit special. “This time last year, we were in a competition called The Kitchen, Nigeria, and I think that was an opportunity to really test out the Atije concept in general, like in public. [Now] we’re bringing that menu back so that people that did not get to experience it then [can do so]. [We’re] bringing it back a bit better, revamping some of the recipes, rethinking them. But still bringing back the same stories and the same essence.”

“So this menu is Atije, literally the original Atije, meaning how we eat. We’re exploring in general how we eat as Nigerians … we have dishes from Calabar, dishes from the South West … things like abula, things like banga and we’re really just bringing … I think a lot of the dishes were really delicious, and we are trying to think of a way to bring it back even better and enable our guests who didn’t know about us then to try it out once again.”

Want to get a feel of what The Atije Experience is? Register for the upcoming pop-up at www.atije.com  or click on the link in the bio of the Atije Experience page on Instagram.

The post At the Atije Table, Chef Moyo Delivers an Elevated Fine Dining Experience first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The post At the Atije Table, Chef Moyo Delivers an Elevated Fine Dining Experience appeared first on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

Visiting Dubai this year? Here’s a list of some of the selected restaurants to dine at

Il Ristorante – Niko Romito (2 Stars)

Situated at the Bulgari Resort in Jumeira Bay Island, Dubai, Il Ristorante – Niko Romito is the expression of Italian culture and heritage and was awarded 2 Stars for “its modern Italian fare, which comes with balance, purity and clarity. Top quality ingredients are flown in from Italy, with highlights including fish and pasta dishes.”

Its new Michelin status does not come as a surprise, seeing as its head chef, Niko Romito is Michelin-approved and has his own 3-star Michelin restaurant in Italy.

STAY by Yannick Alléno (2 stars)

You can visit STAY by Yannick Alléno at the One&Only Palm Jumeirah if you’re craving elevated French cuisine.

Run by yet another Michelin-starred chef, the restaurant was chosen for its “sophisticated dishes that are skillfully crafted with French cooking as the base.”

Höseki (1 star)

The second Bulgari Resort Jumeirah Bay Island restaurant to receive a Michelin star, Höseki – which means gemstone in Japanese – is a nine-seater dining establishment promising a unique Omakase experience, the most traditional way to savour Japanese food. (Omakase means “I leave it to you”)

Led by the sixth-generation sushi master, chef Masahiro Sugiyama, guests are promised a culinary experience like no other involving fresh ingredients imported daily from Japan.

Hakkasan Dubai (1 Star)

Looking to explore Chinese cuisine with a twist? Hakkasan, located at Atlantis, The Palm, has exactly what you need to satisfy your gastronomic curiosity.

At Hakkasan Dubai, expect traditional Chinese dishes reimagined for contemporary tongues and exclusive to Dubai.

Al Khayma (Bib Gourmand)

Michelin describes Bib Gourmands as typically lower-priced spots that provide great food at a similarly great value, and the 14 restaurants placed in this category “offer a value-for-money gourmet experience for an average price of 250 AED for a 3-course meal.”

Described as part museum, part restaurant, Al Khayma offers original Emirati food at its Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood location. Expect generous portions of traditional dishes such as dango (spiced chickpeas) and balaleet (sweetened Vermicelli with egg).

Lowe (Green star)

Dubai’s first Michelin restaurant celebrated for its commitment to sustainability is Lowe, a contemporary dining establishment whose “kitchen team cook on fire, practice nose-to-tail cooking and procure ingredients as locally as possible. As part of their efforts towards zero food waste, the restaurant’s ‘Waste NOT’ dinners offer eight to ten courses of would-be waste products, saved over the previous months.”

For the full list of restaurants featured in the inaugural Michelin Guide Dubai 2022, go here.

The post A Michelin Guide to the Top Restaurants to Dine at in Dubai first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The post A Michelin Guide to the Top Restaurants to Dine at in Dubai appeared first on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The name, for the average Nigerian, conjures up images of an illicit trade conducted under the cover of darkness; of tiny sachets or bottles with funny names and current street slangs, sitting snugly in the hands of people that are often described as belonging to the lower echelons of the society.

Illegal, dirty, poisonous. All these are adjectives that have been associated with ogogoro, qualifiers that are false and rooted in our colonial history

Ogogoro is an alcoholic beverage like rum or tequila. The only difference? It originated in Africa

“Ogogoro is a very dirty word in Naija culture today, and has been for some time,” says Lola Pedro of Pedro’s Ogogoro. “Firstly it was criminalised by the British: when the colonisers came, they needed to sell British, or London dry gin [to us]. So the first thing they had to do was vilify our own products, our own indigenous spirit which is not a gin, it is a palm spirit, it’s ogogoro. And they did that very successfully.”

If you were to go online today in search of the definition of ogogoro, most of the results will refer to the alcoholic beverage as a local gin indigenous to West Africa. Armed with this ‘knowledge’, we thought it best to work with a home brand in celebration of this year’s World Gin Day. And so, imagine our surprise when we reached out to the co-founder of Pedro’s Ogogoro, Nigeria’s first formally distilled ogogoro and were told:

 “Ogogoro is a palm spirit from palm wine and gin is a grain spirit that is infused in juniper berries. So calling ogogoro ‘gin’ is a complete misnomer.” 

If this is the only difference between both drinks, why is it generally believed that the former is a cheaper, inferior kind of the latter?

[Due to colonisation] “Ogogoro never developed or evolved. And it was made very informally, almost similar to moonshine. Oftentimes it would be adulterated especially the kind of stuff you would drink in the cities and you’ll always tend to see low-level people in society consuming ogogoro. Think of the mama on the side of the road with the sachets. Most of that is actually not ogogoro but that’s what we call it. Because it’s just cheap, synthetic ethanol mixed with aromas and different colourants and flavourants. [sic] But now, the word ‘ogogoro’ has become a catchall phrase for bad alcohol, and for this reason, it’s really been demonised and ostracised,” explains Lola.

Ogogoro sits somewhere between a rum and a tequila actually.

“And this is actually because of the properties of the actual raw materials. We distil from the raffia palm (which is the tree from which we take the sap) … and not from grains steeped in juniper. If you think of tequila, it comes from the agave plant which holds many similarities to the palm. [Ogogoro] is like a lighter, softer tequila or even a rum, which is obviously from sugarcane.”

“When we work with mixologists who are unaware of the historical and cultural context surrounding ogogoro, for example, in Europe; when they want to play around with Pedro’s, they tend to naturally use our spirit in classic rum or tequila cocktails [in place of rum or tequila].  These cocktails are much more befitting of our product and really work in terms of the flavour profile and properties of ogogoro.”

As the world celebrates World Gin Day on June 11, we choose to honour a truly exceptional drink that has suffered so much indignity and has been wrongly called a gin for almost a century now. In celebration of the legendary ogogoro, here are recipes for three truly delicious cocktails, featuring Pedro’s Ogogoro. But don’t take our word for it: go ahead to make a glass – or two – of any of the cocktails below.

Zobogoro

Zobo ingredients

• Zobo leaves (Hibiscus)
• Water
• Dry or Fresh ginger
• Cloves
• 1 Large Pineapple
• Soursop juice

Zobo Preparation.

Peel and dice the pineapple, then set aside. Wash the hibiscus with cold water. Place the washed leaves in a large pot of water and boil for 25mins whilst adding the chunks of pineapple, ginger and cloves. Sieve out the extract into a bowl and leave the drink to cool. Add the soursop juice, then refrigerate the drink.

Cocktail Ingredients.

• 150ml Zobo
• 50ml Pedro’s
• Ice

Garnish: Fresh mint leaves

Steps.

In a ratio of 1:3, Pour Pedro’s and the zobo mixture into a cocktail shaker, with ice and shake well for 20 seconds.

Serve in a cocktail glass and garnish with mint.

Sapele Sour

Cocktail Ingredients.

• 60ml Pedro’s
• 40ml fresh lemon/lime juice
• 20ml Sugar Syrup
• 1 egg (optional)
• Ice

Garnish: Orijin bitters

Steps

Add the Pedro’s, lemon/lime juice, sugar syrup, and egg white into a cocktail shaker. If using the egg white, dry-shake for 30 seconds without ice, then add the ice and shake again until well-chilled. Otherwise, shake all ingredients together with ice. Strain into a rocks glass or a coupe and garnish with 3 or 4 drops of Orijin bitters.

PPC (Pedro’s Piña Colada)

Cocktail Ingredients

• 60ml Pedro’s
• 45ml  cream of coconut
• 45ml   pineapple juice
• 15ml  lime juice, freshly squeezed
• Ice

Garnish: pineapple wedge and leaf

Steps

Add the Pedro’s, cream of coconut and pineapple, and lime juices to a shaker with ice and shake vigorously for 30 seconds.

Strain into a chilled hurricane glass over ice and garnish with the pineapple wedge and leaf.

About Pedro’s Premium Ogogoro

For the increasingly discerning imbiber, Pedro’s premium ogogoro, is a batch distilled, 100% organic palm spirit. Handcrafted in Nigeria’s riverine communities and then refined in Lagos, Pedro’s is spearheading a new African narrative, audaciously unsurpassable and unapologetically local.

The post World Gin Day 2022: Ogogoro Is Not Gin! first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The post World Gin Day 2022: Ogogoro Is Not Gin! appeared first on Aspire Luxury Magazine.