How mum inspired my career in food criticism — Opeyemi Famakin

Popular Nigerian food critic, Opeyemi Famakin, has revealed that his journey into food journalism and criticism was shaped by his mother’s love for cuisine rather than any deliberate plan to become an influencer or content creator.

Famakin made the disclosure during an interview on the TJAE Podcast hosted by Joey Akan and published on Tuesday.

Speaking about how he found his career path, Famakin said he grew up in a family where food was central to their lifestyle.

“I grew up in a home where my mom, she’s a foodie, her father was a foodie. So I grew up travelling to different countries for food,” he said.

According to him, his mother took him and his siblings on food-focused trips to several countries, including Spain, the United States, the United Kingdom, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Mexico, the Bahamas and Dubai.

“I’ve been to 12 countries. I think 16 now, but with my parents, 12 countries travelling to different countries for food… In the three kids, I was the one that genuinely followed her interest,” he added.

Famakin said there was never a grand plan to build a career around food.

“I just liked food. I liked talking about food. There was no plan, there was no grand plan. There was no plan to blow, no plan to be an influencer. I was just that guy that liked talking about food and over time, things happened and things evolved,” he said.

He credited his journalism background for helping him communicate effectively, explaining that he worked as a journalist after graduating before moving into advertising.

Famakin said he previously worked as an editor at Vibe, where he tried to pursue food journalism despite the platform’s entertainment focus.

“When I was at Vibe, I was trying to be a food journalist, but Vibe is entertainment. And they kept saying, ‘This food thing will not work.'”

He said the scepticism became motivation to prove that food content could succeed.

“I’ll show you guys this thing will work or not,” he said.

The food critic also admitted that criticism and negativity continue to fuel his ambition.

Being told I can’t do something, negativity fuels me. The worst way to kill my career is praise me.

“If you want me to fail, keep praising me, keep crediting me. I’ll fail. But keep giving me negativity… if it is helping me, I know I need to work on it, but for now it is benefiting me,” he said.