The BusinessDay CEO Magazine August 2017

The BusinessDay CEO, Aug 2017 | 22
Olamide Jinadu: The culinary business has been on the
rise in the past couple of years within the millennial
circle, how did you become one of our favourites?
Chef Eros: I think I had the first mover advantage, that
is, I was one of the first set of people to move back in
2008, and right there and then I started running a
restaurant. I was only twenty-one so you can imagine
how big a deal it was for me at the time, plus having
loads of friends come by who also just moved back as
well. That's when my journey really started, but in terms
of being a favourite I think it's all about my personality.
I'm pretty outgoing although I'm learning that I have a
strong game face when I'm out at events or working but
that's because I'm a typical chef ,emotional and
passionate about what I'm doing so I'm serious
whenever I'm working.
Olamide Jinadu: What's the story behind CookieJar?
Chef Eros: I had recently sold my first restaurant While
still in the process of selling the restaurant, I started to
think about what to do next, so I decided to get into my
second passion which was real estate, as well interior
architecture and I was doing alternative energy on the
side as well, solar panel systems and micro turbine gas
systems. I had already gotten a place to start the real
estate business in 1004, when I started having a series
of dreams about sweets and desserts. All these came to
a head when on New Year's Eve, I had surreal dreams
about owning a bakery, and after telling me my mother
about these dreams she encouraged me to get into it.
I didn't until the Occupy Nigeria strike. I got super
bored during the strike and my mother suggested that I
start baking and that's how it all began. With my
girlfriends help I started baking and giving out samples
for tasting to my friends and neighbors such as Dr Sid
who lived below me.