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This cookbook isn’t just a collection of recipes — writing it is what helped the author feel at home in ɫɫÀ²

Ozoz Sokoh, a culinary professor, explores Nigeria’s diverse food culture in her debut cookbook, “Chop Chop: Cooking the Food of Nigeria.”

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Culinary anthropologist and professor Ozoz Sokoh talks about her new debut cookbook, “Chop Chop.”


Though I eat out for a living, my knowledge of Nigerian cuisine is mostly limited to well-known dishes like jollof and suya. So when Ozoz Sokoh, a food and tourism studies professor and creator of the  blog, told me a few years ago she was working on her debut cookbook, ”,” I was excited for the March 18 release. With more than 100 recipes spanning Nigeria’s six culinary regions, plus insights into the country’s food culture and history, the book is both a cookbook and culinary textbook — crafted by a lifelong home cook tracing the roots and stories behind the dishes she makes.

Sokoh, who teaches at Centennial College’s School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts, invited me to her home in Mississauga for freshly fried, fluffy ákárá (bean fritters) and mingau de tapioca (tapioca and coconut pudding) while we talked about the state of Nigerian restaurants in the GTA, how a conversation about food in Brazil led her to explore Nigerian cuisine more deeply, and how writing her cookbook helped her embrace ɫɫÀ² as home.

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Karon Liu

Karon Liu is a ɫɫÀ²-based food reporter for the Star. Reach him via email: karonliu@thestar.ca.

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