Chop , Chat , Chill : EMEKA FREDERICK

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Our schedule at Winchester was so packed with activities , I never had time to focus on being different . It just wasn ’ t a worry ,” says Emeka , putting the finishing touches to his menu by his desk . He has just spent the last few weeks preparing for a major event , and another opportunity for Londoners to sample his culinary skills . Captaining industry , or entering into entrepreneurship , is not an immediate attraction to many Wykehamists whilst they are at the school . But through the maturing of the lessons they have learned , and the realisation of the experiences that have moulded them , often enough they find the skills , and leadership , to plant small seeds leading to big things . Still just as busy , Emeka has found some time to regain that focus since leaving Win Coll . Using the medium of tapas , in partnership with his sister Ifeyinwa , he is on a mission to introduce the authentic flavours of Nigerian cuisine to the UK market . Chuku ’ s , as a brand , was founded by the pair just over a year ago . Growing up in a Nigerian household together , the sibling duo had been dreaming about sharing their family ’ s social dining traditions with the UK for as long as they could remember . It was only after another trip to Nigeria in 2014 , aged 24 , that he was inspired to act . “ In another life ,” says Emeka , “ we would just have ignored it . Winchester taught me to ask myself ‘ Who ’ s game to do it ? It ’ s gonna be me !’” For him Chuku ’ s is , in no small part , the consolidation of the edge that Winchester taught him that he had . Arriving in the school from Ilford , Essex , he did not share a huge amount in common with the backgrounds of the majority of his cohort , but found his way socially very quickly , thanks in no small part to the same personality that now fronts his restaurant ’ s campaign to build culinary bridges .

26 The Wykeham Journal 2016