Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen Returns to East London for an Indefinite Pop-Up

Next month Zoe Adjonyoh, founder of Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen, will take her west African cuisine to a pop-up in London Fields, with a new residency at the Institute of Light (IOL) cinema and arts space. Since 2010, Adjonyoh has been a leader in the promotion of African food and culture in London, with a string of sell-out supper clubs, a tenure at Pop Brixton and her debut cook book, which launched last year. The new resi dency, she says, “will be the next chapter in exploring African cooking, with a whole new menu of dishes inspired by [her] travels, as well as old favourites from the Brixton pop-up.” It will begin on Wednesday 7 March.

Small plates on the new menu have been designed to be eaten without cutlery. They will include:

• Oto cakes with soft boiled egg
• Cassava crisps with scotch bonnet chilli salsa
• Kenkey (fermented maize dumplings) and sardines
• Zoe’s signature Ghanaian red bean stew

Larger dishes will include:

• Jollof chicken with lettuce wraps
• Goat shocko (stew)
• Plantain pork belly
• A small, additional menu of cinema snacks has been created, including: Akara fritters, okra and kelewele (spiced fried plantain) to go with pre-show drinks.

“Being back in East London feels like a true homecoming for us,” said Adjonyoh. “It’s where Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen began, at the Hackney Wicked arts festival, and to think how much we’ve grown since a home-made sign saying ‘Zoe’s peanut butter stew’ is mind-blowing. I’m a huge admirer, and long-time patron, of the IOL, and to be laying down roots in such a wonderful space is a real honour. We’ve been working at creating loads of new and exciting dishes, but getting people familiar with African flavours is still what we’re all about. It’s been an amazing journey so far, and I can’t wait to get started on the next adventure.”

The residency will also see Adjonyoh host regular events, one-off dinners and collaborations with other London chefs, in a bid to continue “to pioneer African culture and women in the industry throughout the year.”

The pop-up does not have a planned end date; it will run indefinitely, a spokesperson for Adjonyoh told Eater.