Yewande Komolafe

Yewande Komolafe is a Nigerian food writer, author, and food stylist. She is best known for her work introducing Nigerian food to audiences in the US. Komolafe joined The New York Times as a cooking editor in February 2021.

Early life Komolafe was born in Berlin, and German was her first language. She moved to Lagos, Nigeria with her parents when she was less than two years old. At the age of 16, she moved to the United States for studies. Komolafe graduated from the University of Maryland Baltimore County with a degree in psychology and biology. where she did both pastries and culinary arts. Komolafe opted to remain in the United States, even though she was undocumented. As of 2018, Komolafe had received her green card and was able to go to Nigeria with her husband Mark. and presented dinner menus each night when she gathered the family to eat by ringing a cow bell. While working at Saveur as a kitchen assistant she got her first experiences with recipe development and testing, and found she enjoyed combination of science and food. Komolafe and Priya Krishna discussed the oral tradition of recipes and the extra burden of non-white recipe developers in a 2020 conversation published in Bon Appétit. Komolafe collaborates with Oko Farms in Brooklyn, where Yemi Amu produces fresh produce that Komolafe incorporates into her menu. Mark Bittman invited Komolafe to cook for a 2018 fundraiser at the James Beard House, and Komolafe interviewed him for the release of the 20th anniversary edition of his book, How to Cook Everything. She has also contributed recipes to The Rise, Marcus Samuelsson's cookbook that was released in 2020.

Komolafe joined The New York Times as a cooking editor in February 2021. In August 2021, Tejal Rao launched NYT Cooking 's vegetarian newsletter, "The Veggie", which Rao and Komolafe discussed on WNYC's All Of It show with Alison Stewart.

Her 2023 cookbook, My Everyday Lagos Kitchen, was nominated for a 2024 James Beard Award in the International category.

Publications

Personal life In December 2023, Komolafe was taken to a hospital in New York City with flu-like symptoms which turned out to be the onset of a sickle-cell crisis (she has sickle-cell anemia, an inherited blood disorder). As a result of complications, she was put in an induced coma, and after she regained consciousness she was told in March of 2024 that both her legs would have to be amputated, as well as several fingers on both hands. She now has prosthetic hands and legs, but continues to cook and write for the New York Times food section.

Komolafe lives in Brooklyn with her husband Mark and their daughters.