African food with a twist: Ghanaian chef raises the bar of pop-up restaurants

Accra’s nomadic chef Kwame “Bishop” Akonnor is on a mission to put the continent’s dishes on the global map.

The African continent may not be a competition to the likes of French and Spanish countries in Europe as a culinary destination, however food lovers on the African continent are making impressive statements in the food world.

Kwame “Bishop” Akonnor is a Ghanaian who’s passion for food is very impressive. Interestingly, as he sits down in his Accra residence, the names of African dishes and ingredients roll off his tongue.

Though Kwame is a trained business graduate he rather finds joy in adding a twist to locally made dishes to give them a modern taste.

He runs a nomadic restaurant in Ghana’s capital city. Occasionally, he serves different courses of meals at a location that is disclosed only to confirmed guests.

Adapting old recipes is key to Kwame, he tells Business Insider SSA that his menu celebrates Ghanaian culinary heritage by putting a modern twist on traditional foods from across the continent.

As a child, his mother’s kitchen was his favourite hangout and he used to follow everyone around the kitchen. He has always had an interest in cooking since he was a child. Owning a restaurant was high on his scale of preference.

Initially, Kwame wanted to start a breakfast shop; this idea was inspired by him seeing a similar thing in Amsterdam. Although it was a great idea, his budget could not meet it. However, he found a simpler way to people’s hearts: nomadic style pop-up dining sessions.

Bishville Bishville (Bishop’s house) was birthed out of Kwame’s desire to treat people to good home-made meals with a spectacular twist.

It all started when during his sophomore year at the Pentecost University.
He tells Business Insider SSA that it took him a year to develop a business plan to capture every tiny detail.

Clientele

Kwame leverages on social media to market his food. His posts are shared, liked and retweeted by an eager crowd of friends, family, clients and food enthusiasts. Social media has been a very helpful tool to Biishville.

Biishville has created over 20 special menus. He tells Business Insider SSA that he has been able to secure big business deals through social media. “I have cooked for big personalities in Ghana ranging from celebrities to top corporate executives”.

Chef Kwame has also taken over the kitchens of big restaurants such as Sai, in Accra. Private cooking is one of the services he runs as well.

He has built a strong clientele within a short period of time. “I keep receiving invites from people outside Ghana to come cook for them privately”, he added.

He’s actually found somebody to look up to. He’s inspired by Chef Selassie Atadika spin on local recipes and dishes.

Submitted By: Desmond Frimpong