SquareMeal and Champagne AYALA are proud to announce that the winner of this year’s Female Chef of the Year award is Adejoké Bakare, the chef patron of trailblazing restaurant Chishuru in London. She received the award from 2023 Female Chef of the Year Roberta Hall-McCarron at this year’s ceremony, held in The Drawing Room at Charlotte Street Hotel in London.
Already one of London’s most celebrated chefs, ‘Joké’ Bakare shot to worldwide prominence this year when she became the first black woman to ever win a Michelin star in the UK.
Despite the highs of 2024, Bakare’s story was already remarkable. Raised in northern Nigeria, Joké absorbed myriad influences from her family, and moved to the UK with dreams of owning her own restaurant. She spent years hosting dinner parties for friends, before winning a cooking competition that allowed her to open Chishuru as a six month pop-up in Brixton Market. In the space of five years, Chishuru has become one of London’s most essential restaurants, and one that perfectly represents the dynamic, exciting food scene in the capital.
Bakare was picked to win the award out of an immensely strong shortlist, by a judging panel of six that included previous winners Roberta Hall-McCarron and Sally Abé, as well as judges from SquareMeal and AYALA. She follows in the footsteps of past winners such as the aforementioned Hall-McCarron of The Little Chartroom, Eleanore and Ardfern, Sally Abé of The Pem, Lisa Goodwin-Allen of Northcote and The Game Bird at The Stafford Hotel, Skye Gyngell of Spring, and Angela Hartnett of Murano.
The shortlist of five chefs also included Harriet Mansell from Lilac in Lyme Regis, Adriana Cavita of eponymous restaurant Cavita in Marylebone, April Lily Partridge – Roux Scholar and sous chef at three Michelin-starred The Ledbury in Notting Hill, and Stosie Madi – chef patron of The Parkers Arms in Newton-in-Bowland.
The SquareMeal and AYALA Female Chef of the Year award was launched in 2018 to recognise the contributions made by women in the hospitality industry. That was in response to a 2017 Office for National Statistics stat that only 17% of chef positions in the UK were filled by women.
Recent research conducted by PWC shows that while student and entry level programs for hospitality are close to 50% female applicants, that number dwindles to 20% when you get to senior and executive level positions within hospitality. The Female Chef of the Year award aims to celebrate women in the industry who are inspiring a new generation of chefs as positive role models.
From left: Adejoké Bakare with previous winners Roberta Hall-McCarron and Sally Abé
Commenting on Bakare’s win, SquareMeal Managing Editor Ellie Donnell explains: ‘When deciding who should take the crown of our Female Chef of the Year Award 2024, Adejoké’s achievements this year shone especially bright. Not only has she etched her name in the history books by becoming the UK’s first black, female Michelin-starred chef, but her reimagining of West African food for a London audience renders her a true pioneer in the cheffing world. Chishuru’s stratospheric rise is evidence enough of Joké’s peerless cooking and it is a pleasure to be able to celebrate her talent and impact in our annual awards.’
Laurence Alamanos from Champagne AYALA adds: ‘At Champagne AYALA, excellence is at the heart of everything we do, and as such, we are proud to be supporting the SquareMeal AYALA Female Chef of the Year Award, celebrating the remarkable talent and contributions these chefs make, both in their restaurant kitchens and in their communities.
It is an honour to present this year’s award to the outstanding Adejoké Bakare, who is not only a rising star in the industry but also a true inspiration to a future generation of chefs and innovators.’
Cover image: Some of the chefs at the 2024 awards at Charlotte Street Hotel. From left: Dipna Anand, Caitlin Leney Tillett, Alexia Della-Minot, Sabrina Gidda, Laurence Alamanos, Adejoké Bakare, Roberta Hall-McCarron, Sarah Hayward, Shuko Oda, Sally Abé, Nikita Pathakji, Izabella Jakubec, Elizabeth Haigh
Read more about our AYALA Female Chef of the Year awards, including interviews with this year’s highlighted chefs: Adriana Cavita, Harriet Mansell, Adejoké Bakare, April Lily Partridge, and Stosie Madi.
