Akwaaba wins Lexington’s Casual Dining Competition

Ghana-inspired cuisine Akwaaba has won the final stage of Lexington’s Casual Dining Competition. The winning team will see their concept introduced across the business and will also enjoy a British artisan cheese makers tour, hosted by Patrick Spinazza from The Cheese Geek. Akwaaba will also have the opportunity to create their own charcuterie range using flavours inspired by their winning menu, which will be hosted by Dhruv Baker, former MasterChef winner, and British charcuterie experts Tempus Foods. The collection will be rolled out across the Lexington business. Baker said: “In all honesty this event was sensational. The authenticity of the dishes was what really resonated with me and the standard was exceptional across the board.” Akwaaba, which means ‘you are warmly welcome’ in Ghanaian, was created by chef Andrew Thwaites, originally from Ghana, to showcase the core spirit of Ghanaian hospitality. From low and slow open-fire cooking methods, using tropical produce, to West African-patterned shirts hand stitched by one of the team member’s aunt, the concept is truly authentic. Food included a fragrant Waakye from North Ghana to a rich vegetarian staple of Akan cuisine known as Kontomire. Thwaites said: “I am absolutely overjoyed that our team won and that we will be introducing more people to experience Ghanian home-style cuisine in all its glory.” This year’s winner had stiff competition in the form of entries including concepts based on the Silk Road, Colombian street food, luxury plant-based desserts and cocktails, Turkish pide flat breads, Tulum inspired Mexican food, vegetarian thali dishes and a next level brunch creation. The competition is a team event and open to all sites across Lexington’s business & industry and Lexington independents business. Each participating team is briefed to create a new casual dining/street food pop up concept which could be implemented at their own site or across the wider business. In total 31 teams made up of 186 people across the Lexington business entered the competition. Of those, 19 teams were shortlisted to showcase their concepts. Eight teams were then chosen to attend the final at OKN1, a collaborative kitchen and dining space at New City College, Hackney, and the home of Lexington’s Chef School. Matt Wood, managing director of Lexington, said: “This competition provides a true showcase of the passion and creativity that our business excels in. We have seen a more diverse range of concepts this year and it is truly exciting to see our people pull together and create such innovative concepts and it was wonderful to see how impressed the judges were by the finalists.” Neil Rankin, chef and restaurateur, added: “The food created by all the finalists was absolutely incredible. I am delighted that Akwaaba won as I was especially blown away by one of their dishes. This exciting new concept made me want to delve further into this type of cuisine and its delicious blend of flavours.”