Tatale, the restaurant showcasing African cuisine at the new Africa Centre in Southwark, is to close next Sunday, 18 June, after just a year in operation.

Ghanaian-British chef Akwasi Brenya-Mensa said at the time of Tatale’s launch last year that he “hoped to change people’s perception of African cooking”, and his cooking gained plaudits from critics including Grace Dent and Jimi Famurewa.

It is understood that the Africa Centre plans to “pass the baton” to another chef from the African diaspora, while Akwasi is plotting his next move.

He said, “Having been raised in South London, I’ve always loved the idea of being creative in Brixton. And it won’t just be within the confines of food, my upcoming projects will see me venture more into art with installations and [other] interdisciplinary concepts.”

Meanwhile, the fast-growing Midlands-based African food chain Afrikana opens its first London outpost on Monday, in Kingsland High Street, Dalston. It is the ninth branch of the business, which launched in Aldridge near Walsall in 2018, and will be followed by openings in Mile End, Hounslow and Ilford as well as Coventry, Manchester and Leeds.