The Lekki environment is home to many eateries, fast food outlets, restaurants and bars that are as top notch as they are superlative in outlook. One that seems to be holding its own and dominating the food space on the popular Admiralty Way is Foodies Hot and Spicy. The edifice on which the outlet sits may not exactly be a fairy-tale affair but the activities that go on at the spot is something special.
Not only is Foodies known for good food, the environment also offers a special treat which smacks of nothing but beauty and comfort. From the ground floor to the next, there is always a traffic of people, either waiting for their meals while having a glass of the homemade juice or eating quietly at their tables which are arrayed in different settings to accommodate all sorts of arrangement or gathering.
While the ground floor is basically about food and people, the top floor houses a lounge which also doubles as a bar where people can have a drink or just have a quiet time having their meals just in case the ground floor becomes a little bit too heated for them.
All in all, the whole setup presents a picture of conviviality set in an ambiance of splendour and glamour, only disrupted by aromas of a wide range of cuisines curated from all over the world. While the environment is something that gives the management of Foodies a big kick, it is their food and the uniqueness of its presentation that is their pride and the manager of the establishment was quick to rub it in, in a recent parley with the press.
“At Foodies, we are more conscious about healthy living and not just about food even though we believe in eating rightly at the right time. Most of the meals that we prepare are meals that are good for the body, not meals that would be an issue to your body after consuming it. And aside from the fact that we take care of meals, you can see the environment, the environment is wow! Foodies is like a home away from home. We tend to give a wow experience to people that come around us. We do local, we do continental and intercontinental. When you talk about the local, people tend to come in and eat what they eat at home, it’s as if you are eating from your house,” the manager, Bukola Adeniji responded when he was asked the reason for their success in the business.
“If you look at the patronage we have as well as our food, you would realize our food does not stay long on display as people buy them almost immediately they are placed on display. They are freshly prepared from the kitchen and as you can see from the glasses you can see the way they prepare it in a very hygienic environment. We have all classes of people in the society walking in to fill their stomachs, to feel the ambiance of the environment because it’s a cozy environment,” he added.
The manager also made it known that Foodies curates its raw materials directly from the farms and the market, making sure they go for the really natural, organic raw materials. He also said the fruit juice sold is homemade and made from 100% natural fruits with no additives.
“We do natural fruits, there are no additives and same goes for the kitchen, we cook naturally. There are some fast food outlets where they use spices, we don’t use anything like spices, we use natural products and ingredients from the market. If you have a taste of our stews, we use the best of all tomatoes in the market, best of maggi and some of the vegetables we use are imported ones, no additives. There are some fast food outlets that you will go into when you are taking their vegetable salad. You tend to perceive the sweetness because they have some additives in it but for Foodies, it is natural vegetables with no additives,” Adeniji emphasized.
Foodies Hot and Spicy has two outlets on the Admiralty Way, Lekki, Lagos but plans to open more branches in more locations on the Island, particularly in Ikoyi and the Ajah axis. According to the manager, there is also a plan this year to open a branch in Ikeja G.R.A.
Presently, there is a branch in Dubai, United Arab Emirates with another set to go up soon in the years.
At Foodies you are not exactly given a menu to peruse, it is the “Mama Put” experience as you have to approach the food stand to make a pick of what you want. That’s simple enough, isn’t it? But at Foodies you are dead wrong as you to make a choice from a wide range of cuisines ranging from local to continental and intercontinental.
“The kind of Egusi we cook is homemade Egusi in a modernized way. Our pounded yam is not a poundo yam, we do the pounding of the yam here. Aside from that we have varieties of rice, if you look at our display there, we have like 17 to 18 types of rice ranging from jollof rice, fried rice, Cantonese, jambalaya, wache rice, ofada rice, Aso rice, brown rice just to mention a few. So, there is no way you will come in even though you don’t have the appetite to eat, you will be forced to eat,” he said with pride,” the manager added with pride.
