Chef
Jeremy Chan
Chef & Co-Owner, Ikoyi
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- London, United Kingdom
- Venue
- Ikoyi · Restaurant
Known for
- Two-Michelin-starred Ikoyi restaurant
- West African-inspired cuisine with British ingredients
- Spice-driven tasting menus
i. Biography
"I think of flavour as a multi-dimensional experience." In the cooking associated with Jeremy Chan, flavour is treated as structure rather than garnish: a set of pressures across spice, heat, texture, product and reference. The work resists a single label, not as posture, but as a practical condition of development at a restaurant built around complexity and control.
The Trajectory
Training outside the kitchen can still shape kitchen method. Princeton University and subsequent work in finance gave Jeremy Chan a formation in systems, discipline and precision before the restaurant work began. Those habits matter in a kitchen language that depends on structure, controlled intensity and the ability to hold multiple references without flattening them. The move into Ikoyi, where Jeremy Chan is chef and co-founder, carries that precision into food rather than leaving it behind. Exactness is used through spice, heat, texture and contrast, producing dishes that are deliberate without settling into an easy category.
The Current Work
Bold, spice-driven cooking is the working frame: global influences, innovative techniques and contemporary fine-dining creativity handled through intensity and restraint. The cooking builds flavour in layers, with enough control to keep force from becoming noise. In his own words: "Since the beginning, I very much felt pigeon-holed into labelling the 'concept of Ikoyi', but I have resisted this with all my strength." Ingredient work at Ikoyi is tied to products, combinations and historical implications of the region. West African ingredients are used without claiming authentic West African food, a distinction that keeps the work in the territory of reference, technique and inquiry rather than representation by shorthand. The plantain dish is the clearest technical marker of that method. Jeremy Chan calls it the symbol of the restaurant and kitchen, a signature dish and the first dish made for the restaurant; it is also noted for disciplined technique and an ideal 13-centimeter plantain. The point is not novelty for its own sake, but the control of scale, form and treatment applied to a familiar ingredient. As he puts it: "I think the plantain dish is, like, the symbol for the restaurant. It's a symbol for this kitchen. It's kind of a signature dish, it's the first dish that we made for the restaurant."
Signature
Signature dishes include Ikoyi plantain dish and Magma by Ikoyi. The range is elemental and precise: spice-led cooking shaped by product, combination and technique, while avoiding inherited categories as the main organizing principle.
Acclaim
Jeremy Chan has received The Best Chef Awards: Two knives, World Class (2025). Jeremy's honors include Highest Climber Award, sponsored by Lee Kum Kee, for Ikoyi (2025).
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Jeremy
What is Jeremy Chan's current position?
Jeremy Chan is Executive Chef and co-founder.
Where did Jeremy Chan train or study?
Jeremy Chan trained at Princeton University.
What recognition has Jeremy Chan received?
Highest Climber Award, sponsored by Lee Kum Kee, for Ikoyi (2025).
