Restaurant Photography – Chuku’s Nigerian Tapas

Brother-sister duo Emeka and Ifeyinwa wanted to put Nigerian cuisine on the map. With their restaurant Chuku’s in North London, they have innovated the food they grew up with by introducing Nigerian tapas, with lots of plant based options.

Since they opened, they’ve garnered glowing reviews and accolades, and a dedicated following of foodies and locals who can’t get enough of the small plates bursting with flavour.

Chuku’s Nigerian Tapas – Setting up the shoot

Unlike some of my clients, the team at Chuku’s already had photos of their food from an earlier photoshoot, as well as an existing following on social media. Accordingly, the objective of this shoot was to fill in some gaps, create new content for their social channels, all the while matching the look of their existing content.

In particular, the team wanted me to photograph:

• Actions shots
• The desserts, with an emphasis on the chin chin cheesecake
• The drink selection
• Some behind the scenes in the kitchen
• A few of the dishes they did not have enough photos of
• Some selections of tapas

The aim was to capture the mood at Chuku’s, the joy of sharing dishes, and highlight the items of the menu they were lacking.

Capturing the mood at Chuku’s

Action shots

Emeka and Ifeyinwa wanted to have lots of “lived in” shots. These included photos of people eating at the restaurant, pictures with hands, pictures of plates being filled, as well as food items with bites taken out of them. Lastly, they wanted shots of the aftermath of a meal, with empty dishes on the table. It was important to them to portray the casual feel at Chuku’s by showing people eating with their hands and pictures of food being shared. I therefore suggested also shooting people passing plates between them.

The desserts

Since their last shoot, they have added new desserts to the menu. Moreover, the team wanted more shots of the chin chin cheesecake, which they had only photographed whole.

The drinks

The menu at Chuku’s includes cocktails, zobo sangria, Nigerian wines and Nigerian beers. I shot all the drinks, both on their own and in the context of a meal. Again, I included images of people sharing drinks.

Kitchen BTS

Emeka and Ifeyinwa were keen to highlight two of their signature dishes: the reimagined egusi bowl and the quinoa jollof. I shot the dumplings being placed in the egusi bowl – both in the kitchen and in the restaurant – and the jollof quinoa being served.

The missing dishes

While most of the dishes had been photographed already, the team wanted more photos of some of them on the table – rather than just on their own.

The tapas selections

Lastly, I shot some tapas selections. To do so, I split the menu thematically. I grouped:

• The ata din din dishes
• The suya dishes
• The pescatarian dishes
• A seven-dish selections for two people

The nitty gritty

The shoot took place over two full days – from 8am to 4pm. To allow me to get all the shots we had discussed, we split the menu between the two days. On the first day, I shot the meat and pescatarian dishes, as well as the desserts. On the second day, I shot exclusively plant based and vegetarian dishes, as well as the drinks.

Emeka and Ifeyinwa both assisted with the shoot, and you can spot both their hands!

The shots would mostly be used on their social media so most photos were shot in portrait mode.

If you want to see more of my work, have a look at my portfolio or my previous restaurant shoots at SlowBurn London and The Haberdashery in Stoke Newington.

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