Influential Woman · Food service

Temitope Davies

Head Chef, Abitem innovation llc

Skokie, IL

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Degree in Food Science and Technology

Her Story

About Temitope

I originally started as a food scientist before becoming a chef. My passion for food began back in Nigeria where I am originally from - I'm Nigerian-American. As a student, I developed this passion and earned a degree in food science and technology from a university in Nigeria, which is what brought about my love for food and taking it into the kitchen. Today, I am the founder of a culinary and innovation brand that specializes in authentic West African cuisine. My work revolves around making and managing large catering events and celebrations for hundreds of guests, both Nigerian and non-Nigerian, just to make sure everybody has a happy meal at the end. I have been able to host and manage large-scale events of up to 600 to 1,000 guests, which is a big deal in this sector. With my food science background, I ensure that all safety measures are in place, looking at food allergies, making sure foods are cooked at proper temperatures, and that the quality is high and nutritious. My background and passion work together to enhance everything I do. Recently, I am starting a retail line for premium ready-to-eat frozen meals, trying to bridge the gap between traditional food and modern conveniences - so people can have the food ready, pop it into the microwave, and it's done in like 5 minutes.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Temitope

01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

I would say, if you want to go into the hospitality business, it requires patience. You have to also have the passion, because if you don't have passion for it - it's not even about hospitality, anything you're doing in life, you have to have passion for it. I know some people usually want to do certain types of work to make money and earn income. That's okay, it's good to get things to pay the bills, to survive, to thrive, but it's always better to have passion too. When you have passion for whatever you're doing, it's going to make you happy. So especially for this kind of business, if you're going into food business, catering, restaurants, hospitality in general, you have to have passion. You have to also learn to learn more. Everybody in this sector, you're always willing to try to explore, and also willing to learn more. Because you have to be patient, you have to have passion for what you're doing, and you have to have the ability to want to learn more, gain more knowledge, acquire more knowledge.

02What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

In this type of business, you have to have passion for what you do, you have to be patient, you have to know what you're doing, but most especially, the value is just excellence. There has to be excellence in whatever you do. I make sure I give high quality and authentic flavor. It has to be that the food is meeting up to standard. Those are most of the important things to me, those are things that I value much. Food has to be of good flavor, it has to be of good quality - that's the major thing I really value.

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