Meet Our Judges
Meet Our Judges
Chef Motunrayo Akinnawo Akinseye
Motunrayo Akinnawo Akinseye is a seasoned entrepreneur, pastry chef, and business leader with over 19 years of experience in the baking and dessert industry. She is married to Olusegun Akinseye, and together they are blessed with two beautiful children.
She holds an M.Sc. in Business Administration from the University of Lagos and is a proud graduate of the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu School of Culinary Arts, Paris. Combining her academic background with her culinary expertise, Motunrayo has built a reputation as one of the foremost pioneers of dessert catering in Nigeria.
Over the past two decades, she has catered for hundreds of high-profile events, ranging from corporate functions to private celebrations, including clients from the Presidency, oil companies, and state governments.
Known for her creativity and relentless pursuit of excellence, Motunrayo prides herself on being a self-taught recipe developer with mastery in cakes, pastries, and confections. She is passionate about mentoring, innovation, and elevating the standard of the Nigerian baking industry.
Motunrayo also oversees a supply chain subsidiary that distributes pastries, snacks, and confections to retail stores, manages mini-bakeries within supermarkets, and creates bespoke celebration and bridal cakes. She is renowned for her gourmet ice creams and was the innovator behind Africa’s first bottled milkshake drink stocked in supermarkets.
Chef Robert Gbedjignon
Chef Robert is an accomplished Executive Pastry Chef with over two decades of international experience across West Africa’s finest culinary landscapes.
Growing up in a culinary household where his father, a respected chef, specialized in continental and African cuisine, Robert discovered early that his true passion lay in the precise art of pastry. This realization sparked a devoted journey into the discipline, and he pursued it with full commitment.
His rigorous foundation in classical French technique has been enriched through work in prestigious fine dining hotels, boutique patisseries, and high profile private events, giving him mastery across chocolate work, celebration cakes, viennoiserie, and plated desserts.
What sets Chef Robert apart is his unwavering philosophy: every dessert must provoke a feeling.
His work fuses European precision with African elegance, guided by intention and technical excellence. Beyond the kitchen, he mentors the next generation of culinary professionals, believing that excellence is built one recipe at a time.
Chef Lolade Otuyemi
Lolade Otuyemi is an award-winning Nigerian entrepreneur, pastry chef, and the Founder and CEO of RL Desserts, one of Nigeria’s leading premium dessert catering companies. With a passion for creating memorable dessert experiences, she has built a brand renowned for luxury desserts, artisan pastries, gelato, and breakfast catering for weddings, corporate events, and private celebrations.
Before following her passion for pastry, Lolade spent over 10 years as a software engineer. She holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science from Coventry University and an MBA from the University of Plymouth, UK. She later trained in pastry at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu in London and has continued to refine her skills through advanced training in the UK
Under her leadership, RL Desserts has catered for high-profile clients, multinational companies, government events, and luxury weddings, earning multiple industry awards for excellence and innovation. Her commitment to quality, creativity, and exceptional customer service has established RL Desserts as a trusted name in Nigeria’s hospitality industry.
Lolade’s vision is to transform RL Desserts into a world-class pastry production company, supplying artisan breads, viennoiserie, pastries, and desserts to hotels, cafés, supermarkets, and restaurants across Nigeria. She is passionate about continuous learning, investing in modern bakery technology, and developing the next generation of pastry professionals.
A firm believer in excellence and innovation, Lolade inspires aspiring entrepreneurs by demonstrating that with passion, resilience, and a commitment to lifelong learning, it is possible to build a successful business that leaves a lasting impact.