Chef Eric Adjepong On Working With AYO Foods, “Top Chef,” Future Projects, Fela Kuti & More

If youare going to launch a company during a pandemic, it had better be something special. And if there is food involved, it had better be something tantalizing. Maybe a delicious blend of South Sea Island red peas and jasmine rice slow cooked with sorghum leaves and served with a mildly spicy red sauce, to make up for all the frozen pizza and other comfort food people had been eating at home?

Eric Adjepong is a chef based in Washington, D.C area. He was a finalist on season 16 of Bravo’s Top Chef, where he earned consistent acclaim from judges and popularity among viewers, and then returned for season 17 of Top Chef All-Stars. As a first-generation Ghanaian-American born and raised in New York City, Adjepong sources the flavors and influences in his cooking from many of the West African dishes he grew up eating. He is passionate about introducing diners to West African cuisine and the impact its diaspora has had on South American, Latin American, Caribbean, and American food, all in his elegant, artfully-plated style. Adjepong previously cooked in several Michelin-starred restaurants in New York after graduating with degrees in culinary arts and nutrition from Johnson & Wales, one of the country’s premier culinary universities. He also holds a Master of Public Health in International Public Health Nutrition from the University of Westminster in London, England.

Chef Eric Adjepong is partnering with the team behind the new AYO Foods, that aforementioned “something special” comes via the opportunity to introduce more Americans to his West African culinary heritage. We spoke about that and plenty more via Zoom on July 22, 2021, as embedded below. More about Chef Eric and his work with AYO Foods can be found here, here and here.

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Tags: AYO Foods, Chef Eric Adjepong, Fela Kuti, Top Chef, West Africa

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."