LIVING LIFE AS A CHEF
Hey there, been a while! How are you? Your life, work, studies, bae, folks and hope you remembered to brush your tongue this morning? I am excited about October, it is my birth month duhhh! Libra QUEEN coming through like bangdadadang!!! Birthday is exactly 2 weeks from now! Turn up!!! (I want my Account balance to really turn up so maybe I will just sleep that day).
The last few days have been super hectic for me but you know, we never die! Some days back when I was free enough for a little fapping, a friend invited me out to have drinks, it was much needed even though all I ever have during these hangouts is Chapman (I am not boring I promise you). So we go out and on our way to the lounge, I expected him to go through Sanfield (this is the correct spelling right?) but rather he went through Law school which was weird because Sanfield was closest to us, at least coming from Lekki so I asked him why he chose the other route.
“Sanfield isn’t the only way through which we get to our destination, it is just one of the ways” He replied me smiling. These words resonated with me as a person who cooks food for a living but even more as a traveler on this road called life.
As a Chef/Caterer/Cook, we know that you can make two different meals from same ingredients but the procedure through which we make them differentiates the meal, for example Moi-moi, Beans and Akara. While they are basically same ingredient, the process is different and this is how Life should be seen. We as human beings have been held as prisoners for so long based on certain standards the society (made up of all of us by the way) has placed and in even trying to correct some of these standards, we are still prisoners just to different standards.
Basically, same Nigeria jaga jaga (In the words of one Wise man), just that this time we have a Man who can rock Etibo, Agbada and Isiagu and still look fly in all of them even your MCM cannot touch him but I digress. Essentially, our roads to our destination vary, for some it is Sanfield, for others it is through Law school and yet for others, they have to pass through Kofo Abayomi, whichever way they choose, the destination is inside Victoria Island still.
Living life as a Chef tells you that while you have rice, onion, ginger and garlic, you do not have Tomato or pepper but you can find spring onion in your fridge with green pepper and viola you can have a sharp sharp Nigerian Fried rice till you have Tomato to make a pot of sizzling Jollof rice.
To me, it means that you can handle any situation based on what you have at hand and not based on what Society says, life is never black or white, we have no manual for it, heck we do not even know how we came to be or even when we will die (Unless ofcourse you are in Ogboni and Lord master has given you date that you will die).
Yes, rules, laws and whatnot are important to guide us especially Nigerians who I believe are the most unruly in this World, afterall no matter how much of an innovative Chef you are, you cannot use Engine oil to fry plantain unless you are really mad and not genius mad but you can opt for Olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil etc. My point being that as long as you are not harming yourself and others, whatever standard Society puts for you can be changed to something suitable and enjoyable. Life is already boring.
In 2014, I found out I was going to have an extra year in University (because of just one course o, my spirit has still not forgiven Ekeh) Prior to that I had never repeated a class or phase in my life, I was depressed, I hated Instagram then because it was full of former coursemates in their Khaki, I felt like a proper failure but 2015 came, I changed environment and got a well paying Job (God bless Akani Bambo) without a certificate, I was glowing my God! I forgot about not serving lol had coursemates who wanted to work like me, I was grateful to God.
I eventually went to serve and God I could not wait for it to be over, my LGI made it even worse for me, I could not believe this was the reason I was depressed for over a year lol but that is life. Eventually, we all have served and now we are faced with handling our lives as adults, nobody remembers the year this person served or the other served.
The important thing now is how you are trying to hack this adult life and remain sane while doing it. I work super hard and there are days I just want to hide from the whole world because I feel I have not even done enough but I pull through, there are days after a while I am like girl you deserve Debonairs triple decker pizza and Ice cream but bills show up like a nosy side chic who doesn’t understand her job description and I find myself buying Yakoyo’s amala with plenty assorted meat and ewedu, happiness is the destination, the route to it may be different.
Occasionally, I talk to some of my friends and I understand that we are all faced with different challenges and everyone of us is trying to wing this thing, no one has the manual and so regardless of how much we judge ourselves, how loud our voices are when we are trying to be gatekeepers of standards, when the sun is out and we are left alone with our thoughts, we realize that the World is really grey even though our eyes see black or white when it is about other people.
A good Chef knows that there are different methods of cooking- baking is one, boiling is one, roasting is another and then there is frying and even when it comes to frying, a good Chef knows when to deep fry and when to barely use oil. The end is what is of importance, same applies to our standards for ourselves, our relationships at work place, with friends, parents, children, our boyfriends/girlfriends and our spouses.
What works for A may never work for you and that doesn’t undermine either of you, the Yorubas enjoy their Okro cooked differently with stew on the side, in Bendel we enjoy our Okro cooked in one pot, obstacles, oil, okro and all but both methods give you a pot of soup. There is only one Nigerian meal I believe should be eaten in a particular way and that meal is Bole, it should be with sauce and fish only or at least something that has lived before unless of course you are a prisoner, then eat it with groundnut as if Life is not hard enough.
I like to look at life like bitterleaf, on its own it is one of the worst things to taste but add ogiri okpe, crayfish, pepper, palm oil, salt, maggi, okporoko, dry fish, snail, cowleg, cocoyam and you may just have one dope looking soup like this
with even a greater taste or like a wise woman said, when life shows you pepper, have pepper soup.
I recommend you add plantain to it so you have proper Delta delicacy, Ukodo!
In exactly two weeks, I turn 25 years old (Please read 21 years old) and as part of my yearly ritual, I thought about my journey in life and I realized that I have been an amazing A student academically and as a student of life, I have also been a Commendable C student and I have tasted being a fatal F student at different points in my life.
I have seen my mom so proud of me with tears in her eyes amongst the audience couple of times, I have also seen that woman with frustration in her eyes as she whooped my ass with my teacher’s cane in the school staff room (the not so cool aspect of being nwa teacher) but these days the woman and her husband keep telling me they are proud of me. It is life, we may not get it all the time but we will survive till we breathe our last.
MEANWHILE, LAST TIME I CELEBRATED MY BIRTHDAY WAS 5 YEARS AGO, I HAD A BOYFRIEND THEN AWWW! THANKS TO MY SISTER, HE GOT ME SOME REALLY BEAUTIFUL GIFTS SHE HELPED HIM PICK FOR ME BUT THIS YEAR? LET US JUST THANK GOD THAT I AM ALIVE, IT IS WHO IS ALIVE THAT CAN TALK ABOUT HAVING A BOYFRIEND OR NOT SO IF YOU ARE READING THIS, I SINCERELY WANT ONE GIFT FOR MY 21ST BIRTHDAY. I WORK WITH A FOOD DELIVERY BUSINESS IN LAGOS, BRELUNDS. WE OFFER DIFFERENT SERVICES SO THERE IS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE. WE OFFER WEEKLY LUNCH SUBSCRIPTION PLANS FOR INDIVIDUALS AND OFFICES, BULK SOUP AND STEW DELIVERY AND CATER AT EVENTS. JUST ONE GIFT OUT OF THESE SERVICES IS WHAT I WANT, THANK YOU! *KISSES*
P.S EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT IN LAGOS, YOU HAVE SOMEONE IN LAGOS WHO WILL APPRECIATE A MEAL hehehehehehe. Daalu sor
The last few days have been super hectic for me but you know, we never die! Some days back when I was free enough for a little fapping, a friend invited me out to have drinks, it was much needed even though all I ever have during these hangouts is Chapman (I am not boring I promise you). So we go out and on our way to the lounge, I expected him to go through Sanfield (this is the correct spelling right?) but rather he went through Law school which was weird because Sanfield was closest to us, at least coming from Lekki so I asked him why he chose the other route.
“Sanfield isn’t the only way through which we get to our destination, it is just one of the ways” He replied me smiling. These words resonated with me as a person who cooks food for a living but even more as a traveler on this road called life.
As a Chef/Caterer/Cook, we know that you can make two different meals from same ingredients but the procedure through which we make them differentiates the meal, for example Moi-moi, Beans and Akara. While they are basically same ingredient, the process is different and this is how Life should be seen. We as human beings have been held as prisoners for so long based on certain standards the society (made up of all of us by the way) has placed and in even trying to correct some of these standards, we are still prisoners just to different standards.
Basically, same Nigeria jaga jaga (In the words of one Wise man), just that this time we have a Man who can rock Etibo, Agbada and Isiagu and still look fly in all of them even your MCM cannot touch him but I digress. Essentially, our roads to our destination vary, for some it is Sanfield, for others it is through Law school and yet for others, they have to pass through Kofo Abayomi, whichever way they choose, the destination is inside Victoria Island still.
Living life as a Chef tells you that while you have rice, onion, ginger and garlic, you do not have Tomato or pepper but you can find spring onion in your fridge with green pepper and viola you can have a sharp sharp Nigerian Fried rice till you have Tomato to make a pot of sizzling Jollof rice.
Yes, rules, laws and whatnot are important to guide us especially Nigerians who I believe are the most unruly in this World, afterall no matter how much of an innovative Chef you are, you cannot use Engine oil to fry plantain unless you are really mad and not genius mad but you can opt for Olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil etc. My point being that as long as you are not harming yourself and others, whatever standard Society puts for you can be changed to something suitable and enjoyable. Life is already boring.
In 2014, I found out I was going to have an extra year in University (because of just one course o, my spirit has still not forgiven Ekeh) Prior to that I had never repeated a class or phase in my life, I was depressed, I hated Instagram then because it was full of former coursemates in their Khaki, I felt like a proper failure but 2015 came, I changed environment and got a well paying Job (God bless Akani Bambo) without a certificate, I was glowing my God! I forgot about not serving lol had coursemates who wanted to work like me, I was grateful to God.
I eventually went to serve and God I could not wait for it to be over, my LGI made it even worse for me, I could not believe this was the reason I was depressed for over a year lol but that is life. Eventually, we all have served and now we are faced with handling our lives as adults, nobody remembers the year this person served or the other served.
The important thing now is how you are trying to hack this adult life and remain sane while doing it. I work super hard and there are days I just want to hide from the whole world because I feel I have not even done enough but I pull through, there are days after a while I am like girl you deserve Debonairs triple decker pizza and Ice cream but bills show up like a nosy side chic who doesn’t understand her job description and I find myself buying Yakoyo’s amala with plenty assorted meat and ewedu, happiness is the destination, the route to it may be different.
Occasionally, I talk to some of my friends and I understand that we are all faced with different challenges and everyone of us is trying to wing this thing, no one has the manual and so regardless of how much we judge ourselves, how loud our voices are when we are trying to be gatekeepers of standards, when the sun is out and we are left alone with our thoughts, we realize that the World is really grey even though our eyes see black or white when it is about other people.
A good Chef knows that there are different methods of cooking- baking is one, boiling is one, roasting is another and then there is frying and even when it comes to frying, a good Chef knows when to deep fry and when to barely use oil. The end is what is of importance, same applies to our standards for ourselves, our relationships at work place, with friends, parents, children, our boyfriends/girlfriends and our spouses.
What works for A may never work for you and that doesn’t undermine either of you, the Yorubas enjoy their Okro cooked differently with stew on the side, in Bendel we enjoy our Okro cooked in one pot, obstacles, oil, okro and all but both methods give you a pot of soup. There is only one Nigerian meal I believe should be eaten in a particular way and that meal is Bole, it should be with sauce and fish only or at least something that has lived before unless of course you are a prisoner, then eat it with groundnut as if Life is not hard enough.
I like to look at life like bitterleaf, on its own it is one of the worst things to taste but add ogiri okpe, crayfish, pepper, palm oil, salt, maggi, okporoko, dry fish, snail, cowleg, cocoyam and you may just have one dope looking soup like this
I have seen my mom so proud of me with tears in her eyes amongst the audience couple of times, I have also seen that woman with frustration in her eyes as she whooped my ass with my teacher’s cane in the school staff room (the not so cool aspect of being nwa teacher) but these days the woman and her husband keep telling me they are proud of me. It is life, we may not get it all the time but we will survive till we breathe our last.
MEANWHILE, LAST TIME I CELEBRATED MY BIRTHDAY WAS 5 YEARS AGO, I HAD A BOYFRIEND THEN AWWW! THANKS TO MY SISTER, HE GOT ME SOME REALLY BEAUTIFUL GIFTS SHE HELPED HIM PICK FOR ME BUT THIS YEAR? LET US JUST THANK GOD THAT I AM ALIVE, IT IS WHO IS ALIVE THAT CAN TALK ABOUT HAVING A BOYFRIEND OR NOT SO IF YOU ARE READING THIS, I SINCERELY WANT ONE GIFT FOR MY 21ST BIRTHDAY. I WORK WITH A FOOD DELIVERY BUSINESS IN LAGOS, BRELUNDS. WE OFFER DIFFERENT SERVICES SO THERE IS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE. WE OFFER WEEKLY LUNCH SUBSCRIPTION PLANS FOR INDIVIDUALS AND OFFICES, BULK SOUP AND STEW DELIVERY AND CATER AT EVENTS. JUST ONE GIFT OUT OF THESE SERVICES IS WHAT I WANT, THANK YOU! *KISSES*
P.S EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT IN LAGOS, YOU HAVE SOMEONE IN LAGOS WHO WILL APPRECIATE A MEAL hehehehehehe. Daalu sor
Lol. Isioma just know that u need to make this money cos ur birthday mate and I dey collect 1M from our friends as wedding contribution. Nice read darling.
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