It was another good food week in LA, and this dish was our favorite thing about it.
Conversation is lively at the dinner board ; a 20 - something TikTok Almighty films a young - at - affectionateness real estate developer as he dispenses off-white of half - drunk wiseness , a new woman celebrating a birthday express mirth with a pair who are there for their day of remembrance , but then there is a rhythmic pinging of metal on metal , and everyone falls mute — Chef Eros is about to mouth . He commands aid , and he gets it . It ’s his experience , after all , the splendid West African tasting menu calledIlé .
Dry ice float around him , euphony ring out , and Chef Eros , the Nigerien restaurateur and culinary entertainer known as Tolu Erogbogbo , and also known asThe Billionaire Chef , begins to tell a story . He speaks of his childhood in Nigeria , violate down the next course of instruction by its specific region of bloodline , its common place in Nigerien cuisine , and his personal connection to it . As he talks , plates commonwealth in front of diners , and each person gives an hearable little gasp — the food for thought is gorgeous and fragrant , a breathless compounding .
This is exactly the response that Chef Eros is going for . His gift for storytelling lace with his culinary talent creates a riffle of excitement for his plates in particular , and for West African food and culture at heavy .
Photo by Katie Jones, courtesy of Ilé
“ My destination is to reach as many people as possible , and to put West African cuisine and its acculturation on the global nutrient map , ” he says . He action that through the food for thought itself , through the gorgeous metal plating and elegant proficiency , but he also does it with the medicine he plays , and his captivating descriptions of the mantrap and their story .
Chef Eros always knew he would wrap up in show business , but he did n’t needs expect to find himself fake private dinners in LA . After falling in love with cooking while he was in business school , and then further falling in beloved with pop - up dinners while track down a catering company , somehow it makes sense . “ I ’m an entertainer at heart and soul , I just happened to line up myself in the kitchen , ” he says .
The full nine courses at Ilé represent a broad stove of all-important West African dishes elevated and reimagined , but Moi Moi may be the best encapsulation of Chef Eros and his style . The original dish is a Yoruba classic , black - eyed peas ground into a library paste with chile , spices , and protein , and then steamed into a kind of cake form .
Photo by Katie Jones, courtesy of Moi Moi
Chef Eros ’ version of Moi Moi set about with the traditional , laborious cognitive process , taking no shortcuts — it is a multi - daytime endeavor washing , soaking , Diamond State - shelling , grind , and seasoning to get it just correct . Then , once the lettuce is ready , it ’s cranked all the way up in writ of execution , intensity of flavor , and presentment .
It arrive at the tabular array as three elements plated in a straight crease ; the round Moi Moi bar is in the middle , topped with a lemon hair mousse made from the fermented grain pud Ogi . To one side is a lighter , satiny pureed rendering of Moi Moi recoil up with even more chile . On the other side there is a piece of smoked trout , crispy skin curl up up like a tuile on a French dessert , dressed with a punchy Ata red-faced capsicum sauce .
The earthy black - eyed peas are matched with vivid , floral habanero chili dry land into the cake . The trout is keen with a smoke flavor that cut through the palm rock oil and peppers in the Ata . And the lemon Ogi shine the whole affair out , a blanket of sweet and tangy over the top . Each factor is toothsome on its own — in peculiar that Ata , which is right enough to be feed with a spoon — but together they make a opulent , complete , and well - round dish antenna . It may not be as renowned as Jollof or as sexy as the Pepper Soup poured tableside from a steaming boiler , but this Moi Moi is a symposium on balance .
Photo by Katie Jones, courtesy of Moi Moi
Or balance to a palate prosperous with some heat , at least — there is plenty of habanero in it , enough to flush the real estate developer ’s cheeks red . Although perchance that ’s the vodka he bring with him , which David Olusoga , Chef Eros ’ partner in Ilé , graciously offer to ruffle into a cocktail , and which the real estate developer importune they do as shots together alternatively . He has officially graduated to three - quarters drunk now . The dinner is BYOB , and whether that means a bottle of nippy white wine-colored to apportion with a few hoi polloi at the table or a feeding bottle of liquor to strike hard back in round is up to you .
The Moi Moi is only the 2nd trend , you are less than a third of the way of life through the repast , but by the fourth dimension it arrive you know everything about your dining companions and something about Chef Eros — and it ’s clear that you will watch more . Between the convivial ambiance and his spectacular storytelling , it create an strange feeling of easy expectancy , like a dinner party party with friends you still feel the demand to impress .
Ilé translates to nursing home in Yoruba , and it ’s clear why Chef Eros and Olusoga chose that name . Chef Eros is far from the home base of his puerility , but that ’s okay — he ’s bring in his West African culinary art and finish here , set it under the shining limelight he can , and building a new home in LA , one dinner party at a time .
