Speaker
Lerato Umah-Shaylor
Lerato Umah-Shaylor began her career in her native Nigeria with national newspaper Leadership. Owing to her wealth of culinary knowledge, Lerato then went on to write an acclaimed food column in the Guardian Nigeria. She has since anchored breakfast TV shows and produced her own cookery show, ‘The Bite.’
About Lerato Umah-Shaylor
Lerato Umah-Shaylor creates both an educational and delicious corporate event to inspire everyone to cook and share food with passion and compassion. She has worked alongside brands such as TESCO, Tilda and Aviva and is a sought-after spokesperson.
Lerato Umah-Shaylor was editor of Leadership newspaper in Nigeria where she created the paper’s weekend entertainment supplement, ‘Essentials.’ As he profile grew, she was then offered the role of co-anchor on acclaimed breakfast TV show, ‘Good morning Nigeria.’
Now based in the UK, Lerato’s renowned supper clubs and pop-up events have seen her collaborate with powerhouse brands such as Waitrose, Soho House, Wefifo and Divine Chocolate. She has even worked on social media campaigns including a selection of recipes for the launch of Tilda rice’s newest range.
Having authored her first book Africana: Treasured recipes and stories from across the continent, Lerato has cemented herself as one of the leading voices of African cuisine. In this book, she combines recipes that have been passed down through generations with her own modern and inventive styles and features as well as personal stories.
Lerato has recounted how first memory of cooking was mixing sand and water onto children’s china plates for her imaginary guests. Now having moved away from sand and onto real food, Lerato is keen for people to understand that we already consume more African food than we realise, for example ginger, squash, cocoa, teas, coffee, sesame/ tahini.
Lerato believes in the power of food to bring people together with flavours rooted in tradition. She is available now for both live and virtual sessions.
- Food and culture
- African cuisine and cookery
- Women in Business
Lerato Umah-Shaylor Videos
Lerato Umah-Shaylor
"Upon a colleague's recommendation, we booked Lerato to cater to our event and run a cookery session, teaching the group how to make truffles. The workshop she ran was not only brilliantly organised, but she was an excellent teacher. We learned how to make truffles and they were delicious. It was an excellent end to a formal day, allowing staff to relax and have fun. She breathed life into what would have been a rather corporate affair and we now have wonderful memories if the day."
Imperial College London
