In Philadelphia, Nigerian-born chef and food consultant Shola Olunloyo is proving that great cooking can be guided by more than taste and sight—it can be measured in sound.
Olunloyo, widely respected in the U.S. restaurant industry as a behind-the-scenes problem solver, has advised top kitchens on everything from oven selection to menu design. Yet despite his reputation as a meticulous technician, his deepest connection lies with a dish from his childhood: Nigerian jollof rice.
What makes his method extraordinary is that he cooks it almost entirely by ear. To him, the bubbling and sizzling of rice provide as much information as any thermometer.
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Wet bubbling means the rice is still absorbing liquid.
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A sharper hiss signals the grains are nearly done.
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A faint crackling burn marks the point where party-style jollof achieves its signature smoky depth.
This sensory approach blends cultural memory with scientific discipline. Growing up in Nigeria, Olunloyo watched family members call out cooking instructions from another room based only on the sound of the pot. Now, he applies the same instincts to a professional craft refined over decades.
Food critic Craig LaBan praised the result as “a warm, sunny flavor,” while restaurateur Dera Nd-Ezuma described it as “balanced, smoky, and perfectly even.”
For Olunloyo, it’s more than cooking—it’s a return to roots. “All my technical work still circles back to the food of my childhood,” he says. “Jollof is memory, discipline, and joy, all in one pot.”
