Joké’s desire to work in food harked back to her university years as a student in Nigeria, where she studied biological sciences and ran a fish & chip cart in her spare time.

Having moved to the UK with her family 20 years ago, she worked in a number of fields including care, health & safety and property management, before starting in food with a van outside her church in southeast London. She ran a supper club or two, and then won a competition to win a three-month restaurant popup in Brixton Village, south London.

Joké opened Chishuru in Brixton in September 2020 as a three month popup, after winning a Brixton Village competition

When Jay Rayner from the Observer came in and gave the restaurant a rave review, the popup became permanent. The Brixton site closed in October 2022 and Joké then operated popups at Quality Wines, Carousel, 180 The Strand and the Globe Tavern in Borough Market, before moving Chishuru to its permanent new home in Fitzrovia in September 2023.

In February 2024, Michelin awarded Chishuru a Michelin star, making Joké the first black female Michelin-starred chef in the UK. Joké was named ‘Chef of the Year’ at the National Restaurant Awards 2024 and Code Hospitality named her Woman of the Year in their list of Women of the Year 2024. In December 2024, the Financial Times listed Joké as one of the 25 most influential women of 2024.