A Taste of Success at Street Foodz Naija 3
Vanessa Obioha
24-year-old Scholastica Joseph was only 17 when she started her food business. After she and her mother were kicked out of their home by their stepfather, the young teen relied on selling food bowls for sustenance. Through that small business, Scholastica saw herself through her diploma at University of Lagos.
“Whenever I had a few lectures to attend, I took my orders,” she said at the third season of Street Foodz Naija finale.
Not only did she pay for her education, her resilience and determination helped her to pay for better accommodation. But the Akwa-Ibom State indigene had a bigger vision for her food business. What she didn’t know was what form the financial support she needed would take or where it would emerge from.
Therefore, when a friend told her to pick up her apron and apply for the Foodbay TV Street Foodz Naija, she reluctantly applied.
Now, her life is no longer the same.
“I wasn’t serious at first but when I applied. It was mind-blowing. It is the most educational show,” she gushed in excitement.
Indeed since 2020 it birthed before the pandemic, Street Foodz Naija has been redefining how local Nigerian food is seen and revered within and beyond the continent.
“We need to do more with our food,” said the MD/CEO of Maxima Integrated Media Limited, owners of Foodbay TV, Femi Ogundoro.
“We need to do more with our Agege Bread and Ewa Agoyin, and that’s what Foodbay TV is all about. Let’s make it exciting enough, let’s educate people about it and then put African food on the World Food map. We’re not asking as Nigerians or Ghanaians or Cameroonians for a seat at the table anymore. We’re constructing our own table. We’re not going to be looking at the foreign media to dictate what we do with our food anymore. We will tell them how to feel about our food and how to see it.”
Each season sees young chefs take on an adventure to transform familiar meals into eight-world wonders that are irresistible to any palate. For instance, in this year’s finale, the first runner-up Chef Abraham Nwanuah also known as Chef Blue turned Garri into a sweet crunchy snack that would make a good appetiser.
This year, contestants battled to win the title The King of Street Food, N10 million cash prize — an increase from last season; a $10,000 Executive Program scholarship at the Metropolitan School of Business Management, United Kingdom; an all-expense paid trip to Dubai, and culinary scholarship at HBM.
Only six chefs made it to the finale held at the open field of Muri Okunola, Victoria Island, Lagos. Scholastica was among them. For the finale hosted by reality TV star Elozonam and the Energy Gad, Dotun, the judges comprising fashion celebrity Toyin Lawani, Chef Gbolabo Gibbs Adebakin, Chef Tolani Tayo-Osikoya and fashion blogger Noble Igwe, tasked the finalists to prepare a two-course meal that interprets the theme of the season ‘Redefinition’ within 40 minutes. They were judged on creativity, originality, hygiene and their interpretation of the theme.
Music and food became the symphony of the night as the finalists fried, steamed, grilled and mixed various ingredients to the rhythm of the music from the DJ’s wheels of steel. That night, as her fans chanted her name and urged her to put in her best, Scholastica was oblivious that her life was about to change. When she presented her meals, a pineapple beef and vegetables starter, and an Ugwu patty (potato and veggies wrapped in ugwu and egg), the judges had nothing but praise for her for the way she transformed the popular greens into an elegant meal.
By the end of the night, Scholastica emerged winner of the third season of the competition.
“I’m so excited. This is so unreal. I cannot express how I feel right now. I still feel like I’m dreaming,” she gushed.
The first and second runners-up, Chef Nwanuah and Chef Eze Lilian Nneka were rewarded with N5 million and N3 million naira respectively.
With the newfound fame and reward, Scholastica intends to open a diner, but first, acquire more knowledge so that she can pool crowds from all over the world to savour the sweetness and spiciness of Nigerian local cuisine.
