You’d be hard-pressed to find any woman who doesn’t love chocolate, but Selassie Atadika doesn’t just love chocolate. She lives and breathes cocoa-infused confections. The African-born chef has won rave reviews for her pop-up dining experiences, private catering events, and handcrafted gourmet truffles, the latter of which recently became available Stateside. Midunu Chocolates, Atadika’s thriving Ghanaan culinary business, is led entirely by a female team of chocolatiers, all of whom aspire to celebrate African culture through truffles. These female chefs use native ingredients like the moringa plant, floral Ethiopian chili, and Cape Malay curry to take their candy to the next level. And the result? Well, it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen–or tasted–before. We recently caught up with Chef Selassie to chat about changing the narrative of cocoa, why she loves leading an all-female team, and, of course, her own undying love affair with chocolate.
Lulus: What’s your background as a chef and chocolatier?
Selassie Atadika: I am primarily self-taught, but I went to the Culinary Institute of America and completed the Pro Chef program. I’ve taken online and in-person courses in chocolatier.
Lulus: How did Midunu start?
SA: The company was started in 2014, where we offered our truffles at the end of our dining experience as mignardise. They became a favorite and a stand-alone product for us in 2015. We launched our truffles in the U.S. market in November 2020.
Lulus: Congrats! So what makes Midunu stand out from other chocolatiers?
SA: Did you know that very little chocolate is produced in West Africa despite producing more cocoa than any region in the world? That’s where Midunu is different: We work with local farmers and producers to cultivate and create our chocolates right here in Ghana. We want to introduce you to a new way of thinking about chocolate. We want people to enjoy chocolate produced at the source where cocoa is grown, where value is added, and where the economy is directly impacted.
All our chocolate is single origin, from Ghana! With a cocoa heritage dating back to 1879, Ghana is renowned for its cocoa quality and quantity, the main ingredient in chocolate. The traditional method of fermenting cocoa beans in plantain and banana leaves instills a unique flavor. We then work our magic and create subtle infusions in our ganache with teas, tisanes, and complex spice blends. Every truffle is handcrafted by our all-female team of chocolatiers in our facility in Accra, Ghana.
Lulus: That’s so cool. What prompted you to create a team of all-female chefs?
SA: In many cultures, women are the custodians of our culinary heritage, but get written out when it comes to the professional culinary space. So I wanted my company to honor women in as many ways as possible. The truffles are all named after women, some of them personal friends who have inspired me. Others are African women who have led unique and inspiring lives. I also wanted to make sure my team was female to offer an opportunity for young women to see more of us moving up in the industry.
Lulus: Yes. To. That. How has working with other women helped Midunu succeed?
SA: There is a general feeling of mutual respect and understanding among the team. Being an all-female team creates incredible energy: We know we are all working to create a new narrative in the culinary space.
Lulus: Your chocolates look more like high-end art than candy. How do you reflect your African culture and heritage in each piece of chocolate?
SA: Thank you! We work the culture and heritage into the flavor profiles in the chocolate and the names of each truffle. We share the history behind the flavors, spices, and women who the chocolates are named after to allow our consumers to go beyond the chocolate.
Lulus: What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced since starting Midunu?
SA: In modern times, the story of cocoa has been a legacy of colonialism, extraction, and cash crops. We are excited to start to change that narrative. We want to see more equity in how the industry values different aspects of the chain. Our chocolates show what it looks like to add value in a cocoa-producing country. Our chocolates show what fine chocolate can look like in the world we want to be a part of.
During the last year, as well, COVID-19 restrictions heavily impacted our dining experiences. We pivoted to focus our energy on sharing our chocolates with the rest of the world. People couldn’t come to our dining experiences, people could not travel. We decided to bring Africa to them through our chocolate journey!
Lulus: You’ve received a lot of notoriety for your chocolates. What are your greatest accomplishments?
SA: After many years of working to overcome the many challenges for makers in cocoa-producing countries, I finally got our chocolates in the U.S .market. I believe we are the first made-in-Ghana chocolate truffle available direct to consumers in the U.S. Other accomplishments have been being able to draw attention to African cuisines at an international level. Some of my honors include finalist in the 2019 Basque Culinary World Prize, voted #73 in the Best Chef Awards in 2020, and 2021 recipient of the La Liste New Destination Champion Award for Africa.
Lulus: How do you envision the future of Midunu?
SA: I hope to see our chocolates in more markets worldwide and get other unique ingredients and products made in Ghana and other parts of the African continent into the homes of conscious consumers. We’re working on new flavors and collections and are super excited to share them soon!
Despite being the world’s second-largest cocoa producer, very little chocolate is actually produced in Ghana. The vast majority of the cocoa beans are exported to the Western world to be processed and packaged, along with a majority of the profits. That’s why I saw chocolate as a vehicle to introduce lesser-known herbs, spices, and teas from across Africa to customers around the world while creating jobs, supporting local producers, and adding value locally in Ghana. I describe Midunu as my love story to Africa, a means of celebrating and preserving Africa’s culinary heritage.
Did Chef Selassie’s story inspire you? Tell us in the comments!
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