Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of female chefs in Nigeria and they are all queens in their own rights but, a few of them have caught my eyes and in ten years when they are talking about the female chefs in our generation who pioneered the Nigerian food industry into the next paradigm, these names would be mentioned.

1. Chef Zuhra: She hails from northern Nigeria and was trained in the U.S. This young chef in her own little way is introducing Nigerian dishes to the American community and her forte lies in turning Hausa Dishes into fine dining. From her personal renditioned Gurusa to her Tuwo da miyar Gyada, she's showing the international palate that there's more to Nigerian dishes than Jollof rice and zobo sorbets.

2. Soliat: "The Food Prodigy". While she might have not officially trained in a culinary academy, this food prodigy can battle most chefs pound for pound. Starting out as a professional dancer, she recently dropped her dancing shoes for cooking and relocated from the UK to Nigeria just to show our chefs how it's done

3. Chef Giggles: When fine dining is mentioned, the first things that pop into the mind of the average Nigerian foodie are 'Pretentious and Ambitious', but, Chef Giggles (the owner of Giggles Culinary Place) has shown that fine dining can be understandable, non-intimidating and even native. With her culinary academy, she's creating an army of new-age chefs who will disrupt the food space and give their renditions of what fine dining should be. It's estimated that a whopping 25% of future new age Nigerian chefs would hail from her academy and who knows, they might usher us into the third paradigm of the Nigerian food age as she's a force to reckon with in our current paradigm.

4. Chef Obubu: While it seems like only the men are owning the 'celebrity' chef space in Nigeria, it's predicted that Christine Obute Otigba might be the next celebrity female chef in Nigeria. While she's currently a private chef, she's been a judge a cooking show and has been endorsed by a few notable brands. If she keeps the fire burning (and maybe adds a bit more gas to it), she might be the female face of the new age and hip food space.

5. Chef Zoey: A fresh alumni of one of the biggest culinary academies in Nigeria, this unapologetic chef isn't going the exotic route when it comes to her food. Her dishes are the epitome of 'Nigerian dishes that did their masters abroad' as they might look familiar, taste familiar but aren't the same level as your regular restaurant food. Her mentor 'Chef Stone' promises that she's going to take over the Nigerian food space as he believes she was arguably one of his most talented and dedicated students during her time in his academy. All eyes are on her as we wait to see what she brings to all our tables. Literally

I'm Famakin Opeyemi, the biggest Food Critic in Nigeria
Follow me on Instagram @OpeyemiFamakin ( https://www.instagram.com/opeyemifamakin/ )