I was immediately drawn into the world of “A Dish Best Served Cold” with your depiction of Éshu, the trickster god of the Yoruba religion. What inspired you to write about this figure? Did you grow up hearing stories of the òrìshà, or did you discover them later in life?

In Nigeria, the traditional religions have actually been demonized and neglected by the majority. They have been reduced to myths and the gods have been labelled as evil spirits or demons. This was due to slave trade and colonialism, of course. Today, most Yorubas are either Muslim or Christian. I grew up in a Christian home and there was something that always seemed strange to me. In the Yoruba translation of the Holy Bible, the devil is sometimes called Satani which is just an adjustment of the English word Satan. However, where the English version uses the word “devil” then the Yoruba translation is Éshu. Apparently, the translators saw some correlation between the devil’s love for trickery and just picked the trickster god to represent him. As I grew and did more research, I saw just how multifaceted this being was. He was more than a trickster or an intermediary. A very complex character that has been given a wrong image by a different religion. I had no grand illusions about changing the narrative surrounding him, but I wanted to do what I could. In recent years, there have been more and more stories centered around Yoruba mythology. Some of them go deep into the lore while others barely scratch the surface, but I noticed that there was little focus on Éshu. If mentioned, it was done in passing. One of the authors who did differently was Wole Talabi in his book, Shigidi and The Brass Head of Obalufon.

Since there was little representation for him, I thought to myself . . . why not write the stories I want to read? So that is what I did.

Éshu’s role is associated with both unpredictability and stability, a dynamic which shows up again in Ọbalúayé, the god of disease and healing. Do the ideas of balance and duality show up elsewhere in your work or in traditional Yoruba stories?

It shows up in both, actually. In my stories, I always try to show every character and situation from different angles. Balance is very important to me. I think the concept of someone like the disease god also healing his followers gives his character more depth and I just really enjoy writing that kind of thing. In Yoruba stories, which are mostly passed down by mouth, there is always a moral at the end and it often stems from the actions of the characters. One of the most popular characters in Yoruba folktales, Ijapa Tiroko the tortoise, is often reported to be very shrewd but sometimes he is impulsive or gets blinded by arrogance. It is part of what makes him and my characters more interesting, I think.

This story is an excerpt from a larger project titled “The Cookbook of the Gods.” Can you tell us anything about the work as a whole or how this story fits within its themes or structure?

The Cookbook of the Gods started as an idea for a world where I’d just write about fun adventures the gods went on while somehow linking it with food in some manner. Over time, it evolved into a project focused on the misadventures of one person—the writer of the book himself. Following up on my desire to shed light on his identity, I started building the world around him instead. I don’t really plot much, so the stories in this series constantly surprise me. I generally have an idea of where I want Éshu to go but how he gets there is up to him.

I found the idea of a recipe for immortality soup to be really intriguing. Does your writing often include food, recipes, or rituals as a part of the narrative?

Rituals, yes. I wouldn’t say I wrote about food a lot, but I definitely include instructions and rituals in a lot of my work. Sacrifices too, which are a vital part of rituals in this religion. The idea for the immortality soup was basically to give directions for something that was almost unattainable. It is up to the reader to believe if its all true. After all, the writer is known for his trickery and might be lying about the whole thing.

Are there other òrìshà or mythological figures you’re excited to explore in future stories? What can readers look forward to next—either in The Cookbook of the Gods series or in your other works?

Oh, I’m definitely working on the other òrìshà. They appear in different roles throughout the series but I’m also working on them in unrelated works as well. I have a funny crossover story I wrote as a joke where Sun Wukong interacts with Éshu, which I’m too embarrassed to submit anywhere.

Next in the Cookbook of the Gods, there’s another story forthcoming in Lightspeed which follows the events of “A Dish Best Served Cold.” After that? Maybe another story. I am still working on the Éshu novel, of course. Hopefully that should be done soon and then we’ll see what happens.