Knorr Turns Up the Heat: 8 Nigerians Cooking Their Way to Romance

Mary Nnah

In a refreshing twist on traditional dating, Knorr’s latest campaign is flipping the script on how Nigerians find love. Who needs a dating app when you have a bestie with data and zero shame? Swiping right is so 2020, as Gen Z have logged out of the dating apps and handed over the reins of their love lives to their friends — the ones who actually know them and their green flags. Real-life endorsements now trump curated bios, and shared experiences matter more than perfectly filtered profile pictures.

This Valentine’s period, Nigerians have taken friend matching to new heights. All over Instagram, friends are publicly “auctioning” their single besties — posting glowing reviews, playful disclaimers, and even putting them up to cooking challenges — while interested admirers compete for a chance at a real-world date set up by Nigeria’s leading seasoning brand, Knorr. It’s bold, hilarious and surprisingly effective.

Here are 8 Nigerians whose friends are currently doing the most to get them boo’d up:

• @ojayy_y (Ojehonmon O.) Nominated by his friend Tobi Bakre, Ojayy is regaling potential love interests with his Knorr-inspired fried rice. What’s a greener flag than green fried rice?

• @folastag (Fasanmi Afolabi) Also nominated by Tobi Bakre — who has carried this matchmaking matter on his head — Folastag is a visual artist and great cook. He has showcased his signature Knorr-inspired Tagliatelle Bolognese pasta dish, which makes the ladies fall to their knees.

• @hawa_magaji (Hawananna Magaji) Served up by her bestie Simi Drey, Hawa is an event and TV host who can throw down in the kitchen, too. She is open to sweet-talking, and you might get her signature pasta dish at the cooking date if you shoot your shot. She’s already planning a double baecation with Simi for next year, so you know she’s serious.

• Lumee_m Lumee’s friends are tired of his singleness and have served him up! An MC and Yoruba language connoisseur, Lumee has cooked up a mouth-watering pot of Knorr-flavoured Ẹ̀fọ́ Rírò and paired it with hot Amala to show off his skills.

• Kolapo__o (Kolapo Omotoso) If you watched BBN, then you know Kola is not just a green flag; he’s a lush green forest. So, we were surprised to learn that Kola is single and can cook as well. A fine man who can cook won’t be single for long, so run to his comments and shoot your shot louder than the other ladies.

• Tobeszn Publicly nominated by his friend Kaylah Oniwo, Tobe is an internet fashion icon who is looking for “the one”. He is hoping to find a Valentine’s date ASAP, and he’s tempting potential lovers with his special pasta with a secret ingredient — Knorr chicken cubes.

• Busayo_debs Busayo’s love language is cooking, and she loves to season her food with plenty of onions, crayfish and Knorr cubes. She wants to leave the single life behind this year, and Kayla Oniwo has asked her to show off her biggest green flag — cooking.

• Simi_od Simi has been perfecting her fried rice skills since Food and Nutrition class in secondary school. She loves to cook when she’s happy, stressed, or just bored because good food always lifts her mood. Simi’s friend Taymesan has served her up to the public, and she has displayed her cooking skills on Instagram with a sumptuous, Knorr-inspired fried rice.

If this is the future of dating, consider us seated, especially when there’s good food involved. Because if love doesn’t enter through the heart, it can at least enter through the stomach.