Bella is known for her watchful eye, incredible attention to detail and love for processes. She is also very passionate about food and likes to try new things in the kitchen.
What is your name?
My name is Oluwatosin Adesola, popularly known as Bella of Eden.
What do you do?
I am a production coordinator, which is equivalent to a chef de partie. I currently lead the prep unit in the food production department of Eden Life. I am in charge of ensuring that the prep unit follows due processes, and standard measurements whilst we’re producing meals.
We’re responsible for making sure that all of the meals that go out to customers are healthy and well prepped for consumption. In a granular sense, this just means that I manage the other members of my team to make sure they’re preparing the meals that are to be cooked with proper hygiene and the right combinations of ingredients.
I would describe my job as being a “hawk”. I’m always watching for processes and making sure that they are being followed. If one step is skipped or an ingredient is used more than the exact amount, it can lead to a lot of meal dissatisfaction. At the food production unit, we aim to make food perfect and not just right.
I enjoy what I do because it gets me thinking, my brain is always working. I’m always checking for what is supposed to be and what is out of place.
You mentioned something about being equivalent to a chef de partie. What does the term mean?
Chef de partie is just a kitchen term that shows the hierarchy. A chef de partie is a chef in charge of a particular area of production in a restaurant, industrial kitchen or food production unit. In large kitchens, each chef de partie has several cooks or assistants under them.
At Eden, we use “production coordinator” instead of “chef de partie” because of our structure and the way we run. We don’t just cook food, we produce it. We invent our ways of doing things, that’s why it’s a production coordinator role instead.
All our processes make up the production cycle. This is why we have junior production assistants, production associates, and production coordinators.
That’s interesting. Is there a level you need to attain or a certificate you need to get to be called a chef de partie?
Typically, you need to have gone to culinary school or have a lot of experience working in a production facility or industrial kitchen. Going to a culinary school reduces the amount of time you need to get that experience and attain the role.
So how did you get into food production as a career?
First off, I love to eat. I love the kitchen and I love to cook. I thought to myself, “Since I love to cook and I love to eat, why not try my hands on being a chef.”
When I started this journey in 2019, I was surrounded by a lot of chefs. I had a couple of friends who went to culinary school too. Some of them attended not because they wanted to be chefs but because they just wanted to learn how to cook professionally. Then, I decided to go too.
In my final year, I got a scholarship to attend a new culinary school and I was excited. My mind wasn’t even set on becoming a practising chef, I was just curious and imagining all the meals I could learn how to make for myself and eat.
After culinary school, I did my NYSC in a hotel and we had an industrial kitchen where I became a continental chef. I started out as an intern cause it was NYSC and I didn’t have a lot of experience. Afterwards, I was retained and worked there for a while. I also worked in a Lebanese restaurant, another hotel and other industrial kitchens before I moved on.
You did your NYSC in a hotel’s kitchen? That’s new. What did you study in school?
I studied Educational Management but I never really cared much for it so I knew I wasn’t going to tow that line.
Great. So what did you move on to?
After my stint at the hotel, I was looking for something more formal and stable. The hospitality space can be really stressful. There are no off days because people have to eat every day, you can’t say “I don’t feel like cooking today,” people would still come to your restaurant and expect to see food.
I was exhausted, and tired of working on weekends so I joined KPMG.
Sorry what?
Yes. I was in KPMG for over a year before I left and joined Eden Life. I worked as a Compensation and Benefits Analyst.
You left a Big 4 and went back to food. The passion for it must be strong.
Yeah. Every industry has its issues. I got tired of working in corporate and decided to go back to what I really loved. But I was in a fix because I knew what going back to work as a chef meant. I would have no weekends to myself.
Then I heard about Eden Life and it helped me make my decision to leave KPMG.
What did you hear about Eden Life?
I heard that they were a new company looking to use technology to solve the issues with food buying and delivery in Lagos. They were trying to make life easy for Lagosians and I loved the idea even though I wasn’t sure how it worked.
How has work been at Eden Life?
My work has changed over the months. I started from directly prepping meals, owning food stations and making sure that the meals always met the Eden Life standard to taking a more people-focused, managerial role that ensures that the chefs in my unit are following due processes and making dishes that are worthy to be called Eden Life meals.
I spend a lot of time managing people, scaling processes, building systems and just making sure that we achieve our overall goals every day. I have evolved as a person and as a professional.
I’m lucky to be here because Eden is run differently than most organizations. They genuinely care about their employees. For example, in the FPT, whatever rest you miss while working on holidays and all of that, you would get it in annual leave days.
Can you explain the annual leave thing further?
Happiness Engineering (HR) at Eden Life records all the public holidays and work-free days that we spend producing meals and gives them back to us as annual leave days. Hence, the food production unit has more annual leave days than any other unit in the company.
How did you come to know about the company?
I complained to a friend about wanting to go back to being a chef and he shared the vacancy for Eden. I didn’t know anything about the company but I was willing to give it a shot. I applied and went through the processes.
Something funny happened when I was doing my taste test. I had to make a meal on the spot and was given only an electric cooker. So I turned and asked the person nearest to me “What am I supposed to do with an electric stove? I need a gas cooker.”
The person listened and said calmly that I was required to use the stove. Turns out that person was Nadayar, the CEO. I almost screamed when I found out but I was like “Even though, regardless, upon still.”
Looking back, the company has come a long way. My interview was in 2020 and a lot has changed since then We now have an entire food facility where we run our taste tests and chef interviews. There are more than enough gas cookers to go around.
Let’s track back a bit to your KPMG stint. What did your parents, friends and family think about that?
My parents have always been supportive of my career choices. In secondary school, we already agreed that if I wasn’t feeling whatever career path I was in, I would switch, try something new for a few months and then tell them of my decision. They don’t try to influence my career in any way. They let me make decisions for myself.
They didn’t try to take you for deliverance or anything? Most Nigerian parents probably would.
Nope. They really just want the best for me and trust me to do the right thing at every point. Also, you know a lot of my friends went to culinary school. I got a lot of support from them.
The way I see it, if I tell my parents today that I want to be a bricklayer and it pays well enough to take care of me, they’ll support me. They just want me to be comfortable and happy with whatever I’m doing.
Work is supposed to be something that you enjoy, it’s work, not war.
They’re very open-minded. You’re really lucky to have them.
I know. I’m a risk taker and it’s great to have parents that support you no matter what. They allow me to take these risks because you don’t know what’s on the other side if you don’t try it first.
Also, if I’m not very convinced, I don’t do stuff. So when I decide to do something, no one can change my mind.
Interesting. As a risk taker, have you ever taken a risk that backfired?
No. Never. My bets always pay off.
Omo. I need your spirit.
It’s not that deep. You just have to listen to your guts and discern.
So what do you find most interesting about your job?
I find dealing with people very interesting. I like collaborating and understanding people. If people aren’t in the right head space, they can’t do their work properly. As a manager, I always have to care about my team members.
I love thinking too. I love providing solutions and my job provides me with an outlet for that creativity. I can try ideas and see where they lead.
Apart from leading the prep unit at Eden Life, what else do you do?
I don’t do much outside work. However, I learned how to do makeovers and I like to practice in my free time. I’m also part of a community of operators in Africa. It’s called Black Ops.
Black Ops. Like the American Soldiers. Interesting name. What is the community about?
Black Ops is a growing community of high-performing operators across different industries in Africa. We discuss and brainstorm on how to solve problems at work, industry practices, get career advice and figure out concepts.
That’s really nice. If you weren’t into food production, what do you think you would be doing?
I’d probably be into entertainment.
Entertainment is a pretty wide industry. What kind of entertainment?
Hosting. I love speaking, especially spontaneously. I love talking to people and looking glam so, definitely host shows and events. A lot of people have told me that I would fit right into the industry but I’m focused on other things now.
I’m not writing you off just yet. I won’t be surprised to see you on TV one day.
Maybe it’ll happen.
So what do you do for fun?
I like going out to great places. Alone or with people. I like places with ambience. I just go grab drinks, eat and laugh. I’m also considering lifestyle vlogging. I enjoy making random reels of my day on Instagram. I’ve been thinking of being more intentional about it.
What would you say to someone that wants to work in the food production industry at Eden Life?
You need to be consistent and ready to show up. If you show up consistently, you’ll be able to build a lot of skills on top of that discipline. You can’t know it all at once. There’s a lot of room to grow and you have to be ready to absorb as much as you can.