Scholastica Joseph, 24-year old lady has been crowned the queen of street food in Nigeria, after emerging winner of the season 3 edition of Street Foodz Naija, a reality television show that celebrates the best of African delicacies from local chefs.
Held at the Muri Okunola Park, Victoria Island, the grand finale of the cooking show saw Chef Scholastica smiled home with the grand prize worth N20 million, including training at the Metropolitan School of Business Management, United Kingdom; all expense paid trip to Dubai and culinary scholarship at HBM.
Hosted by Do2tun and Elozonam, the grand finale was spiced with musical performances by music artistes, including Eloswag of Big Brother Naija with the first runner-up Abraham Nwanuah (Chef Blue) got N5 million cash, while the second runner up Eze Lilian Nneka (Chef Lily z) was presented with N3 million cash.
“It’s so unreal,” Chef Scholastica said in a chat with reporters, adding, “My friend told me about it and encouraged me to apply. I wasn’t serious at first, but when I applied and got selected, it was mind blowing; it is the most educational show.”
On how she feel being the first female to with the competition, Scholastica who hails from Akam-Ibom State said, “I’m so excited. This is so unreal. I cannot express how I feel right now; I still feel like I’m dreaming,” she enthused.
She continued: “My creativity level, having participated in this show, is so high; I cannot even express it. Right now, I’m thinking about the training; I will go for it in Dubai. I’m going to get more knowledge so I can run my diner. “
Recalling how she got into cooking, she said, “My mum and I were chased out of the house by my step father, so I had to rely on selling food to survive. I used to sell food bowls; I started doing that when I was between 16 and 17. So, I had to get UNILAG diploma form and that was how I was able to pay my fees. The days I didn’t have lectures, I will take more orders to pile up money. That’s how I was able to pay my fees, and get a better accommodation. “
Speaking at the event, the CEO of Maxima Media Group, owners of FoodBay TV, Femi Ogundoro said the vision behind Street Foodz Naija to put Nigerian street foods on the global map.
“Street Foodz Naija is pretty much to celebrate superstars like the contestants that we had on this show this season. Trust me, Nigeria is blessed. The journey has been very interesting; they have also been able to justify why we are doing what we are doing here today. You also need to be an ambassador for African food; be proud of it anywhere. “
On the effort by FoodBay TV to reposition Nigerian dishes for the international market, he said, “We’re not asking 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 food and how to see it. But it starts with you and I understanding who we are as a people. We are Nigerians. Let’s take pride in what we have, in who we are as a people. Let’s not be ashamed of our jollof rice.”
