JULIANA ADEBISI ALABI
Food Content Creator · Lagos Mainland
8+ years cooking experiencePersonal information
- Full name
- JULIANA ADEBISI ALABI
- Location
- Lagos Mainland
- Gender
- Female
- Age
- 27
- Phone
- 08103042767
- mydieteticsdiary@gmail.com
- Residential address
- Ogbomoso,Oyo state.
- Social handles
- Mydieteticsdiary
Applicant profile
- Applicant type
- Food Content Creator
- Applicant type other
- I make contents surrounding food and nutrition
- Current occupation
- A nutrition student,food content creator and a food entrepreneur.
- Cooking experience
- 8+ years
Competition experience
- Prior competitions
- Yes
- Competition details
- Yes, I have participated in a culinary competition before. It was a virtual competition held during the lockdown period, which tested contestants across multiple stages. I progressed through the first and second stages and made it to the final stage, competing against a total of twelve finalists.
I came seventh overall in the final stage, an experience that pushed me to sharpen my skills, think creatively under pressure, and compete at a high level entirely through a virtual format.
Competition readiness
- Available throughout competition
- Yes
Entrepreneurship and impact
- Runs a food business
- Yes
- Business name
- ChefJuh
- Business type
- Healthy breakfast options
- Years in operation
- 1 year
- Business challenge
- One major challenge I hope Eko Flavours can help me overcome is building confidence in high-pressure, competitive cooking environments. I’ve cooked for people I know, in comfortable, familiar settings, but I’ve never truly been tested under the kind of pressure a competition brings, and I want that experience to push me past my comfort zone.
Closely tied to that is the challenge of visibility. I’ve quietly built real skills over the years, in content creation, food photography, and hands-on cooking, but I haven’t yet had a platform big enough to match the depth of that work. Eko Flavours feels like the opportunity to close that gap, giving me both the pressure-tested experience and the exposure I need to grow.
Beyond that, this opportunity would also help me take a step toward my bigger dream: eventually building a space where food and health intersect, and where I can serve people in a way that’s both delicious and genuinely good for them.
Culinary journey
My love for cooking began at a tender age, inspired by watching my mother bake. That early exposure sparked a passion for baking that I couldn’t shake. I started baking for free, making pastries and treats for friends, family, and children in my church community, simply because I enjoyed it so deeply.
Before gaining admission into university, I spent about eight years honing my craft beyond the kitchen, developing skills in food photography, food videography, editing, and food blogging. That waiting period became a season of growth rather than delay, sharpening my ability to tell stories through food.
Eventually, I chose to study Nutrition and Dietetics, driven by my belief that food should be more than just food. It should genuinely nourish and work for the body in the right way. My culinary journey is, at its core, a merging of two passions: the art of cooking and the science of nutrition.
Cooking inspiration
I see cooking as an art, and beyond that, a genuinely fun thing to do. But what truly drives how I cook goes deeper than that. I understand that food has the power to make or mar a person’s health. What goes into a dish, and how it’s prepared, ultimately shapes how that person’s health turns out.
That understanding inspires me in two major ways. First, knowing that I can cook in a way that actually improves someone’s health gives real purpose to what I do in the kitchen. Second, there’s something deeply fulfilling about seeing people enjoy my food, watching them share it, savor it, and connect over it. That joy on people’s faces, paired with the knowledge that I’m nourishing them, is what keeps me inspired.
Signature dish
My signature dish is my Banana Coconut Pancake, a breakfast recipe that reflects both my love for breakfast and my belief in what a good first meal should be.
I take a classic pancake and elevate it with ripe banana and coconut shavings, adding natural sweetness, texture, and a nutritional boost without relying on excess refined sugar. It’s my way of showing that breakfast can be both delicious and intentional, indulgent enough to enjoy, yet thoughtful enough to nourish.
This dish is deeply tied to my breakfast advocacy work through BREAKFAST KULTURE, where I champion the idea of reclaiming the first meal.
Why I want to participate
Earlier this year, I found myself watching a lot of cooking shows online, and as someone who genuinely loves to cook, I was drawn in by the tension and energy of competitive cooking. It felt really beautiful, and I told myself I wanted to enroll in a culinary competition this year.
I want to participate for a few reasons. First, I want the experience of working under pressure and seeing how I handle it in a real competitive setting. Second, I genuinely love cooking, and this feels like an opportunity to step out of my comfort zone, meet new people, and explore what food means to different people. It’s a chance to connect more deeply with the heart of cooking itself.
What winning would mean
Winning would mean a great deal to me. It would make me feel proud of myself and boost my confidence, not just as a cook, but in myself as a whole. It would affirm that I can push past my comfort zone and achieve things I’ve always wanted to do.
Beyond that, winning would push me toward greater heights, giving me the confidence to keep growing, keep exploring, and keep chasing bigger goals in my culinary journey.
