Chef and Entrepreneur Rachel Adjei

Photo credit: Amanda Loparco

Toronto-based chef and entrepreneur Rachel Adjei founded The Abibiman Project to use food as a way to bring people together and make an impact that would bring about a positive change at a time when the world needed it most.

While out of work like many chefs and workers in the hospitality industry due to COVID-19, Rachel says she had time to reflect on her career and what was important. “I think it wasn’t until I had time sitting at home in the pandemic out of work for the first time in a long time that I really thought to myself, ‘I have been exhausting myself telling these food stories in spaces where there is nobody who look like me, where there is food that doesn’t represent me and I am running myself for a legacy that is not mine and is not for my community.”

She says it was during this time she began reflecting on how she could use her food, especially food that represented her African roots as a Ghanaian woman, to make a change in the world.

The word abibiman in the Ghanaian lanuage of Twi roughly translates to mean, “the land were Black people originate.” A one-word definition is Africa. Rachel named what is now her social enterprise business The Abibiman Project which perfectly aligns with her purpose of introducing people to the diverse flavors and ingredients from the continent.

When founded in 2020, she immediately began creating and selling products and hosting events to support the work of Afri-Can FoodBasket started by Anan Lololi which serves those who are food insecure, primarily in Toronto’s Black community. She continues to champion their work while building other partnerships as well as building her business that allow her to connect with people through food with intention and purpose.

Learn more about The Abibiman Project online and follow along on Instagram.