ST. JOHN'S, N.L. —

Dough sizzles on the stovetop in the small kitchen of a bungalow in the east end of St. John’s, but it isn’t traditional Newfoundland and Labrador toutons being fried, it's puff puffs, a Nigerian dish made from dough with chopped red bell pepper sprinkled throughout.

Dressed in a vibrant blue dress and black apron, Christiana Emmanuel said she likes to add a tiny amount of habanero to give it an extra kick.

Christiana was born in Benue State, Nigeria. She has a master’s degree in international business from the University of Lincoln in England, which was where she met Sunday, also from Nigeria, who is now her husband.

While working as a lecturer at Baze University in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria, Christiana dreamed of one day opening a restaurant franchise in her home country.

In 2018, the couple moved to St. John’s from Finland, where Sunday was studying mechanical engineering, so he could study oil and gas engineering.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Christiana made traditional West African food to bring to friends to give them a bit of comfort. They were so appreciative of her cooking and tasting the flavours they had grown up with, they wanted to know why she wasn’t selling it.

This was the extra push the couple needed to start thinking about opening a restaurant in St. John’s.

Afro Kitchen NL, an African-style takeout scheduled to open on Feb. 7, will be open on Sundays and Mondays from 6-10 p.m. They will serve out of the kitchen of Thyme Catering and Cooking School, located at 282 Torbay Rd.

After getting help from the YMCA of Newfoundland and Labrador business planning program, they decided to start small to assess the St. John’s market, but they hope to eventually expand.