OUR STORY

Chin-chin has been part of my family for as long as I can remember. The recipe came from my mother, whom I've always called The Mama. She made each batch by hand, and when chin-chin was frying, the kitchen filled with a smell you couldn't ignore.

I was born, bred and buttered in Surulere, Lagos. My brother, a childhood friend, and I would wait for the chin-chin to cool, then sneak handfuls into our pockets and eat while we watched TV. It never lasted long.

Pictured: The mama (middle), my friend (top right), my brother (bottom left), and I (top left) making chin-chin in Benin.

As I got older, I started standing beside her, learning what made her chin-chin so loved in the neighborhood. In 2008, The Mama retired from making it, and just like that, it was gone. Years later, in 2013, I found myself craving it. I tried making a batch on my own, and the first bite took me right back to being five years old. That was the moment Mikey's Gourmet Chin-Chin began. Not as a business idea, but as a way to hold onto something that mattered.

Today, we make chin-chin the same way. Carefully. In small batches. With close attention to texture, balance, and finish. The recipe hasn't been rushed or reinvented. It's been kept because it works.

This isn't about chasing trends or recreating the past. It's about sharing something familiar, made the right way, and letting the taste speak for itself.

Michael "Mikey" Lawanson