The Kitchen Nigeria’s Season II is set to air from 19 September to 16 October 2022, according to Lost in A City, the country’s leading discovery platform, which also announced a 150 percent increase in the prize money for the potential winner of the competition from N2 million to N5 million.
This statement was made at the unveiling of the second season of The Kitchen Nigeria as Lost in A City encourages everyone interested in participating in the show to take advantage of this fantastic opportunity.
The Kitchen Nigeria is a competition to discover “the next major restauranteur in Nigeria,” and it made its debut last year. Its goal is to advance Nigeria’s restaurant sector and support aspiring restaurateurs in the country. It is sponsored by Mastercard, a global payment and multinational financial services corporation.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of Lost in a City, this year’s The Kitchen would welcome a group of up-and-coming talents from all around the country and give them a stage on which to compete.
“The Kitchen Nigeria is the perfect opportunity for aspiring restaurateurs to turn their dreams into reality. It is a search for the next big restaurateur in Nigeria and aims at supporting and promoting aspiring small business owners in the dining sector in Nigeria. The winner of this Season II will get N5 million to be invested into his or her dream of becoming a restaurateur.”
“The challenge will be for the contestants to create their own three-night pop-up restaurant in order to see who will become the next big restaurateur in Nigeria. During the show, four contestants will prove to their customers that they have what it takes to open and run a successful restaurant outlet. The winner will be selected based on the showcase of the three pillars of a successful restaurant or hospitality firm – food, ambiance, and service,” Bahnam continued.
Yosola Atere, Director, Area Marketing of Mastercard, says that The Kitchen Nigeria is a chance to develop and help SMEs in the sector, where aspiring restaurateurs have the chance to demonstrate their skills to create or maintain a restaurant in a difficult environment.
“The Kitchen Nigeria is not ‘another cooking competition’ but a platform that takes you on a culinary journey to find the next big restaurateur in Nigeria. It is in keeping with Mastercard’s commitment to support small and medium businesses (SMEs) in Nigeria, with a particular focus on the restaurant industry. It is also aimed at further growing the hospitality industry in Nigeria, as well as empowering talents with the interest of becoming restaurant owners.”
How to Apply
On the procedures of the show, the CEO of Lost in A City stated that interested members of the public who want to be part of the contest are required to send in a three-course menu proposal and a one-minute video along with their bio to The Kitchen Competition Registration Portal – www.thekitchen.ng/apply.
The portal will be open till 27 August, 2022.
Stage two of the competition entails an adjudication panel to select six semi-finalists who will be expected to present their cooking skills in a cook-off where they will have to cook one of their three courses for the judges.
The adjudication panel will then select four finalists, who will then qualify for the final stage of the contest, out of the six participants.
In the stage three, the four finalists will get the opportunity to host a three-night pop-up where 20 guests will enjoy a three-course meal each night.
The organisers will allocate a budget for each finalist to prepare for his or her own unique pop-up. This budget will allow them to buy ingredients, hire staff and create the ambiance to make their pop-up a success.
The final winner will be determined by the guests and judges, who will rate each finalist based on the same three key variables, namely food, ambiance and service.
She further informed that the Judges for the Season Two of the competition are Tannaz Bahnam, Founder/CEO of Lost in a City; Ziad Beydoun, Co-Founder/Executive Chef, Z Kitchen and Ziya Lagos; Chef Benedict, Founder, The Chef Benedict Culinary Experience; and Uzoamaka Umeh, Founder of El Padrino.
The Season One of The Kitchen, held last year will be showing on DSTV, Africa Magic Family, Channel 154 to unveil the winner.
