The Fire Under Jollof

Jollof is a rice dish, but the flame is what makes it a JE KOYO dish. Every pot is finished over open charcoal for the last few minutes of cooking, just long enough for the bottom layer to catch and for smoke to work its way up through the grain.

That layer, the socarrat some kitchens chase in paella, is not an accident here. It's tested for, timed, and trained into every cook who works the rice station. Too early and the smoke is bitter. Too late and it's char, not flavour.

We use firewood for our largest events and charcoal for the daily service, but the principle stays the same: the grain has to remember it was cooked over fire, not just heat.