Chef Shine was supposed to be an accountant.

He had studied accounting and worked with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the Lagos State Property Development Company. His plan was straightforward: build a career in accounting, pursue his professional qualifications and grow in the corporate world.

Then he moved to London, and things did not quite go according to plan.

Money became a problem, making it difficult for him to continue with his plans to pursue the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants qualification. So he took a job at Rainforest Cafe in Piccadilly Circus.

He started out in the delivery section, but it did not take long before his accounting background began showing up in an unexpected place: the kitchen.

Chef Shine noticed how ingredients and supplies were being stored and decided they could be better organised. He applied the first in, first out principle he had learnt in accounting to the kitchen’s inventory.

It was a small thing, but the management noticed.

The general manager and executive chef encouraged him to train as a chef. Chef Shine was still interested in finding a way into the accounting department, though, and even spent extra hours helping with Sage, the accounting software, while working in the kitchen.

Then came a conversation that made him reconsider his plans.

The general manager was willing to support him in pursuing accounting, but also told him that advancing as a Black professional in that particular environment could be difficult. It was advice that stayed with Chef Shine.

So he started looking at the kitchen differently.

He began researching what it meant to build a career as a chef. He looked at chefs such as Gordon Ramsay and started to understand that cooking could be more than a job. It could be a profession with room to grow.

Still, changing careers was not an easy decision.

His family knew him as someone who had studied accounting and was building a career in the field. For a while, Chef Shine did not tell them that he had decided to pursue cooking. He wanted to prove to himself, and perhaps to them, that the decision could work.

It did.

About four and a half years after entering the culinary profession, Chef Shine became a head chef. He had reached a position that, based on his experience of the industry in the UK, could take many chefs about 10 years to attain.

But the kitchen was only the beginning.

When Chef Shine returned to Nigeria, he noticed that there was a gap in professional culinary training. He had worked in a different environment and seen how things were done abroad, and he wanted to pass some of that knowledge on.

So he began mentoring young chefs.

At the same time, he was also thinking about what he could build for himself. The difference in pay and opportunities between the UK and Nigeria made him less interested in simply looking for another job. He wanted to create something of his own.

That idea started small.

Chef Shine had waterfront property and wanted to create a restaurant where he could host friends and have a space to work independently. But the plan kept growing.

The restaurant eventually became Lagoon View Hotel, a 30-bedroom hotel with a rooftop restaurant.

And as the business grew, so did the importance of the relationships he had built along the way.

Chef Shine’s network opened doors to opportunities that helped the business expand. For him, it was proof that relationships matter in hospitality just as much as culinary skills do. Knowing people, building trust and staying open to opportunities can sometimes determine how far a business goes.

Yet, even after becoming a hotel owner, Chef Shine has not left the kitchen behind.

He still develops menus, creates recipes and works on costing for establishments he consults for. He would rather remain involved in the actual work than become the kind of chef who only manages from an office.

That hands-on approach also shapes how he thinks about the food industry.

To Chef Shine, becoming a chef is not the only way to build a career in food. There are opportunities in food blogging, brand ambassadorship, menu development and professional costing. The important thing, he says, is to take the work seriously.

He is particularly critical of how social media can sometimes make people want the title without putting in the work behind it.

For him, social media should help professionals grow their careers. It should not replace the training, discipline and experience needed to become good at what they do.

His advice to young people looking to enter the industry is simple: believe in yourself, start small and find your niche. He also encourages aspiring chefs to get professional training and find mentors who can help them understand the industry. For Chef Shine, passing on what he has learnt is not separate from his work in hospitality; it has become part of it.

That commitment recently earned him recognition from the National Orientation Agency, which named him Nigerian of the Week for his contribution to the hospitality industry and his work mentoring others. The recognition came as the agency expanded its programme to include people making contributions to the hospitality sector.

It is fitting recognition for someone whose career has moved…