Selassie Atadika: My life in five dishes

Selassie Atadika spent a decade working for the UN in some of the world’s most volatile regions, and it led to a realisation - that food has an essential role to play in rebuilding economies and bringing communities together.

The Ghanaian chef is now on a mission to revive many of Africa’s lost or forgotten foods, and make the rest of the world sit up and take notice.

She tells Emily Thomas how, aged five, she was forced to flee her home in Ghana following a military coup, and why she caused a ‘scandal’ in her family by dropping her plans to be a doctor for a career in humanitarian work.

Selassie is now gaining international acclaim for Midunu, a nomadic restaurant she set up in her family’s former home in Accra, which embodies what she calls ‘new African cuisine’. She explains how she wants to use it to make the continent healthier, wealthier, and greener.

(Picture: Selassie Atadika. Credit: Selassie Atadika/BBC)