The Star Network Podcast
The Star Network Podcast brings together industry experts, entrepreneurs and young creatives to share their stories and business experiences
Every discussion is aimed at creating a space for thought-leadership/knowledge sharing on all things entrepreneurship (the highs and the lows of building a business) and sharing key tools to help navigate decision making for growth as well as general wellness to be the best you can be
Hosted by Zephia Ovia-Ikem, a graduate of the London School of Economics with professional work experience across Financial Services, Development Consulting and now in Fintech. Our guests are experts from different industries ranging from Fintech, Fashion entrepreneurs, Consulting, Banking , Entertainment artists to Lifestyle content creators etc
New episodes are live Bi-weekly. If you find our episodes impactful, don't forget to share and give us a rating
For partnerships and more enquiries please email us:
thestarnetworkpod@gmail.com
The Star Network Podcast
Episode 19 - XO Boutique Bakery : Day In A Life Series
XO Boutique Bakery: Day In A Life Series featuring Chef Alex Oke (Chef Owner XO Boutique Bakery ) and Host of The Star Network Podcast Zephia Ovia-Ikem (Zeph)
In this episode we spend the day at XO Boutique Bakery with Chef Alex unpacking the journey from being a pastry chef to owning a restaurant. Alex shares with us his career transitions, being a graduate of International Business to embracing his love for Culinary Arts and becoming a Pastry Chef/Restaurant Owner
Key highlights:
- Embracing your inner gifts (transitioning from a corporate 9-5 to entrepreneurship in culinary arts)
- Owning a Restaurant Business in complex business environments
- Gaps in the food production value chain in Nigeria
Chef Alex is a bi-national Nigerian/Russian Chef based in Lagos Nigeria. Alex is passionate about bread, pastry and confections and trained in both culinary and pastry arts at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts (PICA) in Vancouver, Canada. Prior to culinary arts, Alex earned an undergraduate honours degree in Management in the U.S and a graduate degree with distinction in International Marketing Management in the UK. His professional work experience cuts across FMCG marketing and branding.
While at Pacific Institute for Culinary Arts, he staged at the Fairmont Vancouver, Beta 5 and Thomas Haas and also worked for a period at Lear Faye in East Vancouver before returning to Nigeria as pastry chef at Tarragon Restaurant, and chef instructor at the Culinary Academy in Ikoyi, Lagos.
As the Chef owner at XO Boutique Bakery, the restaurant features traditional French and new world breads, viennoiserie and pastries with a modern flair. Alex has delivered masterclass demos at prominent food festivals in Lagos, including the GTBank Food & Drink Fair, Fiesta of Flavours and Fitfam Fest
Listen to the episode now. Full video also available on YouTube
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Follow us @thestarnetworkpod
For partnerships, email us: thestarnetworkpod@gmail.com
Follow our guest: @xobakery