Traditional Warri Cookingcooking.
From banga to starch to ogi isopo, learn the cornerstone dishes of Itsekiri cuisine — and the rituals that make them sacred. A kitchen apprenticeship with a third-generation chef.
What you will learn.
The kitchen as shrine
Pantry, palm oil, and the memory of smoke. The tools every Ìwẹrẹ kitchen keeps and why.
Soups with soul
Banga, egusi, okro — the mother broths. Slow-cook technique, palm-fruit reduction, balance.
Starch, yam, garri
Accompaniments that carry the meal. How a good starch lifts the soup it sits beside.
Fish, pepper, palm
The Niger Delta triangle. Steam, smoke, and pepper paste from scratch.
Festival foods
What we cook for weddings, funerals, and welcomes. Small-bite platters and ceremonial rice.
Your own table
Cook a full Itsekiri meal for your family — graded and celebrated on camera.
What we expect, and what you will walk out with.
Prerequisites
- No cooking experience required
- Ingredient starter kit shipped ($20, waived for members)
- Cast-iron pot or heavy-bottomed pan
- 2 hours weekly for live cook-alongs
Outcomes
- Cook banga soup, egusi, and ogi isopo from memory
- Identify six market staples and their homeland substitutes
- Host a full Ìwẹrẹ table for eight people
- Earn a Heritage-track certificate endorsed by the Chef's kitchen
You learn from one person for the full term.
TBD
Master Chef · Warri kitchenThe chef-instructor for this course will be named when the first cohort opens at Convention 2026. We are recruiting a senior Warri-trained chef with diaspora teaching experience to lead the kitchen apprenticeship.