An introduction to traditional and modern Nigerian home cooking featuring 100 delicious recipes by food explorer, culinary anthropologist, and Nigerian native of @kitchenbutterfly fame, Ozoz Sokoh.

In Nigeria, the word “chop” is all about food and feasting and “chop chop” a nickname given to someone who loves to eat. And it's no surprise Nigeria has an entire vocabulary dedicated to eating—with more than 50 nationally recognized languages and over 250 ethnicities, Nigeria's food is as rich and diverse as its people. Despite the foodway's incredibly flavorful complexity, ingredients and recipes from all six regions have not been gathered and showcased in a highly photographic cookbook. Until now.

In Chop Chop, author, culinary anthropologist, and Nigerian native Ozoz Sokoh celebrates classic and traditional Nigerian cuisine to underscore the ingredients, flavors, and textures that make it not only beloved, but delicious and easy for the home cook. Featuring:

• A COLLECTION OF CLASSIC AND MODERN NIGERIAN RECIPES: Think smoky spicy beef suya skewers, egusi soup with greens, restorative pepper soup, jollof rice studded with tomatoes, soft puff puff dough bites, and sweet-tart hibiscus drinks, and more from across the country.
• LEXICON OF NIGERIAN CUISINE: Learn how to shop and cook like a Nigerian as well as the ingredients integral to Nigerian cuisine and how they come together in the form of hearty soups and stews, steamed puddings, salads, rice dishes, fritters, and more.
• ILLUMINATING CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL EXPLORATIONS: With headnotes and sidebars that give important cultural and historical context, including how Nigerian cuisine travelled the globe leaving its mark, you will learn the roots behind each dish.
• STUNNING PHOTOGRAPHY: With gorgeous photos from Nigeria’s landscapes, food markets, and people, as well as beautiful photography of ingredients and finished dishes, Chop Chop is a cookbook to behold.

Written through the lens of Ozoz's deep connection to the region, Chop Chop will bring Nigeria's food-loving spirit to home kitchens everywhere, so you can travel, by plate.

Ozoz Sokoh's profile page

Ozoz Sokoh is a Nigerian food writer and educator. A geologist by training, she began documenting her food journey on her blog Kitchen Butterfly in 2009. Central to her work is connectedness through food, food sovereignty, cultural identity, reclamation of food systems, and the joy of eating. Her research and documentation explore the roots of Nigerian and West African cuisine, the impact of West African intellectual contributions to global development from the American South, through the Caribbean to Europe, Central and South Americas, and the connection to the Afro-diaspora.

Sokoh has spoken at TEDx and at conferences hosted by the Culinary Institute of America. Her work has been featured in Smithsonian Magazine, Gastro Obscura, CNN African Voices, Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown, among others.

She is a professor of Food and Tourism Studies at Centennial College, Ontario-Canada, where she teaches a variety of courses including Exploration of Foodways. She makes her home with her three teenage children in Mississauga, part of the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Find her online @KitchenButterfly.

“Chop Chop showcases elegantly Ozoz’s love for her nation’s cuisine and skillfully guides both newcomer and connoisseur into the riches of Nigerian food.”
——Yemisi Aribisala, author of Longthroat Memoirs

“From classics like pepper soup, jollof rice, and sūya̱ to less well-known dishes such as yòyò (fried whitebait) and spices like aridan, Chop Chop gives a rich and loving culinary picture of the food of Africa’s most peopled country. Recipes have easy-to-follow directions and the book is filled with glorious photographs of individual dishes, local markets, and more.”
—Jessica B. Harris, PhD, culinary historian, professor, lecturer, and author of High on the Hog

“Ozoz writes like a dream as she invites us to engage with the rich, delicious food cultures of Nigeria. The lovely photos are an enticing backdrop to her recipes and stories.”
——Naomi Duguid, author of The Miracle of Salt and Taste of Persia