- Doesn't taste like Akara.
- Well, I don't taste anything.
(laughing)
- Oh my days!
- Is that all?
- Boom.
(upbeat music)
- Hi, my name's Lateef,
and today I'm trying other Nigerian men's Akara.
- Akara is basically like a beans dish.
- Akara. (laughs)
Black beans mashed, that's all I ever say
because that's literally what it is.
- And this is the actually the only type of beans
that you guys will ever catch me eating.
Ever.
None of those baked beans.
- Yeah, I'm sorry about the Akara.
That was not happening.
I just kept burning it,
and my mom was getting angry on FaceTime.
Yeah, I'm not involved with Akara anymore.
- [Interviewer] So what goes into making a good Akara?
- Well, I always like to say love.
- To be honest, you can get any beans.
There's honey beans, there's soy beans,
there's white beans, so it doesn't matter.
Obviously, as a chef, obviously I knew this.
- For me, it's not too liquid, it's not too thick.
Cake batter kind of consistency.
- I don't wanna see lumps.
I don't know. It's just gonna put me off.
- And I just don't want anything that's gonna hurt my teeth
'cause some people's Akaras can be like stone.
- [Interviewer] Which tribe would you say
has the best Akara?
- Obviously, I'm gonna say Bassa. No, Igbo.
It has to be, it has to be Igbo People.
Not gonna lie, it has to be Igbo.
- I'm gonna bias and say like, Yoruba People.
Our Akara, it bangs.
- Yeah, I'm actually excited, you know,
'cause I'm gonna eat it and I'm like, you know what
let me just actually just get into it.
- I think what makes my Akara the best is actually
I don't use bean powder.
I actually start mine from scratch.
I buy the beans, I rinse them,
I soak them for about two hours.
And then I kinda begin the kinda peeling process,
and then I blend them.
- Okay.
- Oh mah.
This is looking a bit tacky, still.
- Definitely looks like it was made in a oven like cookies.
But, yeah.
- Okay, fair enough it smells good.
Not too burnt, not too, not too bright.
- The colors literally how mine would turn out.
Yeah it is.
- Lets try and test this.
Oh my days.
Oh my days!
(laughing)
- It really melting on my tongue right now.
So I'm really like woo, woo that the wheel, Jesus.
Because this taste good.
- It doesn't taste like Akara.
I don't know it taste like corned beef
for some weird reason.
- Clearly Nigerian man can cook. Wow!
- I mean I rate the texture, I rate the look,
but do not know what's inside this.
- I would tell, I would give this a six.
- [Interviewer] But you liked it so much?!
- This was good still, but.
- You know what, yeah, let me be nice.
I give ya a six.
- Definitely mines gonna be the best 'cause
one, I make it out of love.
Two, I can season well. Three, it ain't burnt.
- [Interviewer] How does this look for you?
You have a face.
- Yeah smells right. Yeah, smells really good.
- Um.
- Obviously as we know,
food can look good, but it doesn't taste good.
- It does look like it's being fried for a bit too long,
and as a result to much oil has gone in.
I'm squeezing it and I can feel the oil.
- So lets try this.
Hm.
- Mm.
- Not gonna lie, not bad.
- This is good.
This is good.
- Yeah, not bad. Not bad.
- (laughing) This is actually, this is good.
Oh, wow.
- Yeah, he nailed it, he nailed it.
Yeah, can't lie, he nailed it.
- It's got good consistency, they've blended the pepper.
- You need to get the right texture of,
of peppered flavor and also sweet flavor.
Obviously, you don't want it too hot,
and the same time, you don't want it too bland.
So, um, yeah, it's a good mixture of everything really.
- If this was in a party, I'd definitely eat this.
8.5
- I'm gonna say 7.5, you know.
- [Interviewer] But you said it was great?!
- I've got high standards, you know.
As a chef, you've got to have high standards.
I've got high standards.
Growing up, I've always wanted to like,
try it on my own.
Got in the kitchen, just whipped it up,
and yeah that's how it started.
(laughs)
- Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh but it's like.
- This, kind of looks like chicken.
- Oh wow.
At first I thought it was chicken wings.
And then I was just looking at burnt cookies,
but I'm like, okay.
- Um.
- Oh, this smells good actually.
- Uh.
- Yeah, no. I'm good.
- Yeah, no.
- No. I'm so sorry.
- Yeah, I'm gonna have to leave that one there.
- I can taste a hint of spice in there
in the back of my throat.
But I'm like, It's not good.
- It, it almost tastes like egg or flour.
- I don't mean to be rude but it's burnt and dry.
- Yeah.
(laughs) No. No.
- It's getting for sure away.
Boom, three.
- I'm gonna have to give this one a three,
and I think that's me being quite generous.
- Of course, mine was gonna win.
I'm so sorry 'cause right when I was making it,
and right when I was tasting it in the morning,
I was like, you know what, this is really good.
- It is what it is, man.
Like, go ahead and keep it pushing.
- I'm just gonna assume it's like a, you know,
a taste bud thing.
But I think my Akaras still good.
I think, you know, the streets,
the streets will like it.
- Shout out to the people that came,
and their Akaras was all ill.
Like, you guys didn't really get the scores,
and that but, unfortunately you didn't win.
But, fortunately I did win so.
(upbeat music)