His voice is quiet and his demeanour is unassuming but pasta master Seun Kowosi (Chef Seun) is already blazing a culinary trail that will impress any food enthusiast. Chef Seun is a student at Culinary Academy, Ikoyi and the founder of Sean’s Fresh Pasta; a bespoke brand of homemade pasta. “I love to cook,” he says joyfully when asked about his journey into the culinary world, “I spend a lot of my life in the kitchen.”
His love for cooking is traced to when he was a child; tagging along with his mother to the market and watching her cook. But young Seun only cooked spaghetti those days and he would not begin to take interest in professional cooking until after his NYSC year. The renowned Chef Fregz would become a critical point along his journey.
Meeting Chef Fregz
“I needed to do something meaningful with my life and I got divinely connected with Chef Fregz. After working with him for almost a year, I was in love with pasta.”
One day, he met Chef Fregz and volunteered to shadow the cooking guru. “Even if there was nothing to do, I was in his cooking space and I had the opportunity to watch, learn and read about cooking. I learned a lot just from following his workers to the market.” During the period when he understudied Chef Fregz, Chef Seun went from washing plates to chopping vegetables and then finally to practising cooking techniques. His determination and talent earned him a full scholarship to study for an 18-month diploma at Culinary Academy, something he calls ‘divine’. He says, “I was divinely connected to Chef Fregz and then the scholarship to the Academy.”
Even though there are several cooking schools across the country, Culinary Academy is one of a kind; the only professional school offering technical culinary courses. “The program is intense”, he says before extolling the rigor of the Academy; “we learn world-class cooking techniques and after a few months, we have compulsory internships.” These are the factors that will distinguish a chef from a cook. Currently at the tail end of his program, he is undergoing an internship at Tarragon Restaurant, the upscale diner owned by the Culinary Academy under the management of Chef Tiyan Alile. On his idols, Chef Seun blurts out without hesitation “Chef Fregz, Chef Tiyan Alile and Gordon Ramsey.” His on-the-job training at the Culinary Institute and Tarragon brings him in daily contact with Chef Tiyan Alile.
Falling in Love with Pasta
Chef Seun’s love for pasta began with store-bought spaghetti as a child. But his decision to venture into creating pasta began after his encounter with Chef Fregz. He says, “The day he showed me the basics of making pasta, a whole new world of possibilities opened up to me.” He went on to do his own research, playing with different pasta shapes and investing in tools for creating pasta. Beyond pasta, his Italian influences are many. He lights up when describing his love for The Godfather and Italy. “I love the Italian way of life and pasta is a big portion of that,” he laughs. But he is serious. According to him, his dream is to float an Italian-style casual dining restaurant serving authentic Italian meals, all the while expanding his pasta products.
So, he calls his pasta brand “Sean’s Fresh Pasta.” I ask why. Could it be the Italian influence as well? Interestingly, the nickname ‘Sean’ has been in existence for a while. He says, “A friend in school started calling me Sean and recently, my mother has started calling me by that name.” There is no reason not to adopt this name which is one part a play on his real name and another part meaningful. “Sean means ‘the gift of God'”, he smiles as he explains. Indeed, the true gifts are his pasta varieties: tagliatelle, ravioli, linguine and a host of others.
His Pasta Dreams
For now, he is keeping the brand small and bespoke to ensure that he maintains the high hand-crafted quality that he is known for. But he wants to grow. He shares his dreams for the brand: “In 5 years, I should be more commercial and respected as an authentic pasta crafts master across the continent.” He is also focusing on preaching healthy eating, noting that store-bought pasta has usually gone through severe processing. “I want my pasta to be as healthy as possible”, he says. His clients, including his pastor, have called him to testify about the quality of his pasta.
Is Nigeria Ready for Fun Food?
“People were saying ‘eww…how can pasta be black?”
As a direct participant in Nigeria’s foodscape, Chef Seun is able to share his thoughts. He says, “Nigerians are not adventurous with food.” According to him, “the foodscape in Nigeria is still boring. Everyone is selling the same thing and only a few people are willing to create food outside the box.” He shares an experience on Instagram where he posted a photo of a hand-crafted squid-ink pasta dish. “The comments and messages were interesting. People were saying ‘eww…how can pasta be black?” he says, before shaking his head in disappointment. On the other hand, my mouth begins to water when I see the photo in question because the meal looks everything but disgusting. We chat off-topic for a bit as we discuss our tastes for unconventional foods and our most adventurous eats. Then, I ask his thoughts on food bloggers. He responds: “I would love more time to follow bloggers but many are also not adventurous and there is a lot of copying and pasting going on.” Nonetheless, a few are on his radar. He says of Kitchen Butterfly, “Ozoz is bae. I always look forward to her next post.” He also enjoys reviews from Eat Drink Lagos.
Where in the World Does He Long to Visit?
“I want to go to visit Italy”, he says, to no one’s surprise. As he describes his dreams of Italy, his eyes brighten and his face warms up. “I want to sweat, I want to make pasta the way they make pasta. I want to see how the forefathers and mothers crafted pasta.” And while he interns in Lagos, he has already started learning the Italian language as he awaits an opportunity to visit Italy. At the top of the list are also Miami, “because of the seafood” and Mexico. In Africa, he would like to visit South Africa for their fine dining.
Chef Seun and his delicious pasta creations can be found on Instagram – @seun.kay. You can also reach out to The Village Pot in the comment section as well as on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
The post “I Love the Italian Way of Life”: Meet the Pasta Master – Chef Seun of Sean’s Handcrafted Pasta! appeared first on The Village Pot.