The Genesis
I'll throw it back to Tolani as a little 8-year-old girl who made her first attempt at cooking fried rice. Back then our parents cooked with little or no spices at all. What you would naturally find in my mum’s kitchen was curry, thyme and very little quantities of veggies in the fridge..
It was on a Saturday afternoon, my parents had gone to their various work places and that was the golden opportunity I needed to cook the best fried rice in the world. I brought out all of the ingredients and cooked the “greenest” rice ever. I was very generous with the curry, but my
siblings didn’t mind as they totally enjoyed it and almost didn’t want to leave any for my parents.
The Exodus
I remember my mum tasting my “green” rice and saying in Yoruba language that “iwo lomamase ounje la teni lo” it was so yummy that she had to declare me the cook of the house, aha!
Cooking since 8 has shaped me to what I have become. I learnt the basics from my mum and have been able to keep up with food trends whilst still using the basic knowledge acquired from my mum.
The Revelation
A new wife who moved in fully with her husband and had to find interesting ways to make him look forward to meal time. I literally experimented with my husband’s food and for every time I did that, I took a picture and posted it on my personal instagram story page. I would get comments like, “can you share this recipe?" “This looks very nice, how did you cook it?” and many more.
3rd of February 2018, I made a decision to open a food blog on instagram. The name “Diary of a kitchen lover” was the revelation I needed to place myself on the food blogging space, a name I would need to gain recognition, a name that has paved many paths for i and my team. I solicited for followers from my personal page and the page started to grow on its own merits.
My Achievements
5 Years Later
With over 2,000,000 community across all platforms, Diary of a kitchen lover has consistently inspired both genders in many ways from simplified recipes to kitchen hygiene, kitchen
organization, cookwares, equipements and general lifestyle.
I am also a brand ambassador to Nigeria’s number one dish wash brand, Morning Fresh!
As a Certified Culinary expert
A desire to explore the art of food led me to pursue an international certification in the prestigious Italian Chef Academy in Rome, Italy. The hunger to discover multiple culinary experiences, techniques and flavours is deep rooted in my experiences and quest for professionalism.
I also recently was awarded a Scholarship by Future Foods Academy in Polica, Italy and am looking forward to the amazing experience.
Partnerships
Chef T being Morning fresh brand ambassador
Meet the latest brand ambassador for Morning fresh, the number 1 dishwash brand in Nigeria. This is my second year as the brand ambassador for the reputable and globally respected brand.
Omotolani Tayo-Osikoya (Diaryofakitchenlover)
"Popularly known as Diaryofakitchenlover, Tolani is a Nigerian Food Blogger/ Recipe developer, Food tutor, and entrepreneur.
Tolani shares amazing food pictures and curates detailed recipes from regular home ingredients to the the delight of her over 1 million followers."
The greatest discovery is realising that nothing is impossible. I was honoured to be featured on the 50 most impactful voices with other great female contemporaries for international womens day on ABCD Africa in conjuction with the guardian and other reputable news pages.