IZU ANI GAIA
Born in Nigeria and raised in London, Izu’s passion for the kitchen began at a young age, from cooking breakfast at home to his home economics classes at school. He finished his studies and launched into his career by joining Michelin star restaurant The Square at the Mayfair where he started doing pastry and progressed from one section to the other and finally to the meat section. Four years later, he was inspired to travel to France to experience Nouvelle cuisine first hand and lived there for 6 years, which encouraged and influenced his culinary style and flair for French flavours. Working at two Michelin star La Bastide Saint Antoine and the world-renowned, three Michelin star Auberge de L’Ill. After France, Izu set his sights on Spain where he gained invaluable experience at renowned restaurants - Arzak and Mugaritz, each offering him kitchen experience in very different culinary fields; it was a new level of cuisine. Returning to London, Izu continued his culinary journey by relaunching the menu at Vanilla. He drew inspiration from his time in Spain and in the process became well respected for his innovative flavours and techniques. It was during this period that Izu was offered the opportunity to relocate to Dubai, to launch the French restaurant, La Petite Maison. As a concept creator of Carine and Gaia, Izu believes that as a chef he tells a story through his food, foods belongs to the culture it comes from, by understanding the culture, you have the privilege of understanding how to extract the food experience and tell the story as from the sources. His aim in life is to keep adding to his life journey through food and lets him explore his limits of creativity.
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