West Africa Comes to Hollywood with New Immersive Dining

By Nathalie Basha

A CHEF WHO IS NEW to Los Angeles hosts weekly dinner parties to immerse people in Nigerian food and culture at his home in Hollywood.

Food bloggers and enthusiasts say it’s the most exciting dining experience in the city right now.

When he was a kid growing up in Lagos, Nigeria, chef Tolu Erogbogbo’s greatest desire was to be on the stage.

“First of all, I’m a born entertainer,” Eros said. “My mother always thought I’d end up in front of the camera!”

For a number of reasons, the chef (who goes by "Chef Eros" for short) says that did not work out, but today, Eros has a stage and a very bright spotlight — for his food.

After making it big as a chef in Nigeria (he goes by "The Billionaire Chef" on social media), Eros landed in LA, where he recently started hosting immersive dinner parties to showcase west African food and culture, plated like a Michelin-starred restaurant. And he’s bringing back the concept of a real chef’s kitchen, to boot — he lives in the space where he hosts guests twice a week.

“So you are at my dining table,” Eros explained to a table of customers. “I sit here every day to eat.”

Eros named the experience Ilé, which means home in his native Yoruba, because that’s exactly what he is trying to do: create a new home in LA by sharing parts of his old home in Lagos.

The experience is hosted every Thursday and Friday, with two seating times at 5:30 pm and 7:30 pm. Every course of the nine-course meal comes with a story of west Africa, as well as a musical pairing meant to transport his customers.

“I will give you food from my grandmother. I will take you on a journey,” Eros delivered this line with flair.

There’s a bread served with sweet fig butter, which — as Eros explained — is often eaten as a common breakfast in Lagos.

One of the most staple dishes of west Africa is jollof rice — “which is a tomato-based rice that includes sweet chilis, bell peppers, habanero, onions, garlic and ginger” — and is one of those beloved dishes that all the countries of West Africa lay claim to. The jollof rice, served with a tender fried chicken leg, is served atop a steaming bowl of dry ice for dramatic effect.

But the food is really just a conduit for the storytelling and cultural exchange.

David Olusoga, a business partner of Ilé who is originally from West Africa but grew up in Brooklyn,

says he signed on to the project because of representation — but specifically this kind of high-end representation — matters.

“I’ve grown up not having our food represented in this sort of light. And how it’s elevated…it’s something I’ve always dreamt about,” Olusoga said.

Eros hopes his cultural experience becomes so popular that he grows out of his work-home space in Hollywood and graduates to a bigger space so he can teach more people about West Africa — from the stage that is his kitchen.

Ilé can be booked through Tock. https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-east/foodand-dining/2022/06/23/west-africa-comes-tohollywood-with-new-immersive-dining Image credit: topnaija.ng, https://www. exploretock.com/ile/images, https://la.eater.com, Marc Chaghouri