Mastery (à la Bola)
In an exclusive interview with caterer extraordinaire and CEO of Delish by Bola, NOLINA BANTO provides juicy details of the CEO’s educational foray to the Academy for Culinary Connoisseurs.
Nolina: Good afternoon ma! It is such a pleasure to finally meet you. I have looked forward to this interview for quite some time now. Thank you for granting my crew some of your time.
Bola: (Smiles) Certainly. Thank you for the opportunity as well.
Nolina: (Chuckles) I will cut right to the chase. You have probably heard this question a lot of times- but I will ask it again, because we are all dying to know: What were you thinking? What was your drive?
Bola: (Takes some time to reflect before answering) Yes, I do get asked that a lot: “What more were you looking for, Bola?” It is assumed that I should have no further aspirations, especially after having expanded from a roadside bòlì stand into an upscale catering empire, three decades after. I smile and respond, saying, “I sought more mastery”.
Nolina: I imagine the many people who know you must still be reeling from the shock. You went back to study for a degree in Gastronomy at the prestigious Academy for Culinary Connoisseurs, and graduated summa cum laude. Why voluntarily choose four intense years at ACC, and not some easier, faster, and not to mention, much less expensive option?
Bola: Interestingly, I did think of the various options. I did my research quite well. That is something you learn from years of being a businesswoman- careful, intense, analytical thinking. Rushing has never been my style (Smiles). I evaluated my options with some of the criteria I run potential investments through: feasibility, viability, productivity, and longevity. I asked myself, “Bola, can you do this? Is this for optics, or are you genuinely willing? Will you go through with it till the end? What do you stand to gain from it? How long will the benefits accrued last?” When I passed my options through these powerful filters and my eventual choice still proved worthy, I knew I would go for it.
Nolina: But how did your family and friends take it? Even if we dreamily make our decisions in a bubble, we do not live in a vacuum. These decisions inevitably impact others around us. So how did they process it?
Bola: (Laughs) Oh that was war! I imagine that you would want me to buttress more on that, but I will not divulge further details for privacy reasons. Suffice it to say it was a struggle to convince everyone of my loved ones to get on board with it.
Nolina: (Wearing a quizzing look) So, nobody supported you?
Bola: (Laughs) Nolina, you know just the way to get scoops. No, please do not misunderstand me. It was not an easy decision, as you may reckon. Not to take, and definitely not to be on the receiving end of. I have a supportive family, but it was not always easy for all of us to agree on how much of the changes we could make at once. But I received immense support from my family. Their encouragement formed part of the fuel that kept me going on the days I was set to throw in the towel.
Nolina: (Smiles) Your story is filled with lots of lessons to glean, Bola.
Bola: I had my fair share of fears too. Truth be told, I was afraid of going back to start learning afresh after such a long time of doing anything quite like it.
Nolina: That is profound. So, how did you cope with naysayers? Because you had quite a handful of trolls. A prominent one dubbed you “an overambitious, uppity, elitist snob, seeking attention by her faux noble action.”
Bola: What kept me going was the drive for mastery, as I said earlier. I thoroughly enjoy what I do- creating exquisite meals and catering for events. From my bọ̀lì-selling days as a young adult, I knew that I wanted to gain rich and vast knowledge about the whole process. I reasoned there had to be some hypothesis to why I got a different flavour when I chose the ripe plantains apart from the overripe ones. But all I could think of, then, was fending for myself and my siblings after our widowed mother lost her job. In the early days of starting my business, I used to be called “Bọ́lá ọlọ́wọ ṣíbí”, the moniker for one who cooked mouth-watering dishes. Despite the rough experiences of those lean days, the passion to understand what made what happen never left me. Food making is art- to be practised and enjoyed all the more because it is understood.
Nolina: (Smiles) That leads me to my next questions. You were trending on social media recently, as having catered for the Continental Conference hosted in our city. You even received positive reviews from acerbic critics. Would you say you have attained that mastery now, since it seems to be paying off quite generously? Would you say gaining the knowledge has made any difference?
Bola: I would answer that in two ways: Yes, it has. So far, we have been able to incorporate into our recipes novel and edgy flavours, without losing our “búkà food” touch. Not only have we found a way to satisfy our older clients who prefer the traditional recipes, we have also gained traction among the young, hipper generation who fancy the bolder flavours. This is thanks to the publicity trending afforded us. I am grateful that we have earned well-deserved commendation. But no, I do not think I have “arrived”. Who knows what comes next? There are a handful of new pursuits our company has in the pipeline- so watch out for us (Smiles). Mastery is to be achieved and pursued.
Nolina: You just gave me a potential headline right there with your closing statement.
Bola: (Laughs) Perhaps I should also venture into the business of quote making. All in favour say aye?
Nolina: (Laughs) Aye!
