Ghanaian chef, culinary storyteller and content creator Abena Amoakoaa Sintim-Aboagye, popularly known as Chef Abbys, has been named the Young Achiever (Female) honouree at the 11th EMY Africa Awards.

The recognition was among the first five honorary awards announced by organisers of the Exclusive Men of the Year Africa Awards. Chef Abbys shared the news on her social media platforms on Tuesday, posting images and reacting with visible emotion to the honour.

The announcement of nominees and initial honourees was made during a television broadcast on 24 October 2026. Alongside Chef Abbys, the first batch of honorary recipients includes Nigerian media executive Mosunmola Abudu (Mo Abudu) for Continental Icon (Media and Film), Ghanaian content creator Berthold Kobina Ackon (Wode Maya) for Young Achiever (Male), Nigerian artist Dotun Popoola for the Creative and Support Arts Award, and Oseadeeyo Owiredu Wadie I for the Humanitarian Award. Further honorary honourees are expected to be revealed in the coming days.

Date of Awards Ceremony

The main awards ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, 21 November 2026, at the Grand Arena of the Accra International Conference Centre. A pre-awards MOTY Party is set for 8 November at the Labadi Beach Hotel.

For the first time, the honorary awards will be presented ahead of the competitive categories to give dedicated attention to recipients whose contributions have shaped their fields.

Chef Abbys, born on 6 July 1999 in Kumasi in Ghana’s Ashanti Region, has built a prominent profile as an advocate for African cuisine and food-related social impact. She attended Wesley Girls’ Senior High School, where she studied General Arts, before proceeding to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology to study Construction Technology and Management.

While her formal education was in construction, she developed a parallel passion for cooking that she began documenting on social media during the COVID-19 period.

She started sharing cooking videos on Snapchat before expanding to TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and other platforms. Her content focuses on traditional Ghanaian dishes and broader African recipes, often highlighting cultural stories and techniques behind the food. Over time she has amassed a substantial following, with reports placing her TikTok audience in the millions.

Her work extends beyond content creation. She is the founder of the Chefabbys School of Food (CASOF), which provides training in African culinary skills, and the initiator of The Big Street Feast, an event that uses food to promote community connection and address hunger. In October 2025 she organised the first edition of The Big Street Feast in Accra to mark World Food Day, serving meals to a large number of people as part of a Zero Hunger advocacy effort. She is also an advocate for reducing food waste.

In 2025 Chef Abbys received multiple recognitions. She was named among TIME magazine’s inaugural TIME100 Creators list, which highlights influential digital creators globally. She served as the official culinary partner for a birthday celebration for King Charles III held at the British High Commissioner’s residence in Accra, where she contributed to a Ghana-British fusion menu.

She was also part of a TikTok delegation to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and participated in a private dining experience with TikTok’s chief executive.

Additional Awards

Additional awards that year included recognition at the TikTok Awards as Food Creator of the Year first runner-up, Young Star of the Year at the Women’s Choice Awards Ghana, and several honours at the Pulse Influencer Awards covering innovation, food content and TikTok creation. She has also received accolades at the GH Creators Festival and other platforms celebrating digital and culinary influence.

The EMY Africa Awards, now in their 11th edition, celebrate achievement across music, film, fashion, sport, design, business and humanitarian work. Competitive categories this year feature prominent names from Ghana, Nigeria and other African countries in areas such as Music Man of the Year, Actor of the Year, Man of the Year in Sports, Designer of the Year and Discovery of the Year. A Youth Changemaker Award sponsored by Peace First includes nominees from several African nations.

Public voting is open for the competitive categories through the official EMY Africa website and Instagram page. The awards combine professional assessment with public participation in selected fields.

Relevance of the Honor

Chef Abbys’s selection as Young Achiever (Female) places her among a group of individuals recognised for reaching new audiences and influencing their communities through creative and practical work. Her focus on African culinary heritage, combined with education initiatives and community feeding programmes, aligns with the awards’ emphasis on impact beyond commercial success.

The honour arrives as she continues to expand her presence in food education and cultural advocacy. Through her school and public events she has sought to train others and promote indigenous knowledge of African cooking methods and ingredients. Her digital storytelling has introduced international audiences to dishes and techniques that carry cultural memory and values.

Organisers of the EMY Africa Awards have described the honorary category as recognition for lasting contributions. By naming Chef Abbys alongside established figures in media, art and humanitarian service, the awards highlight the role of younger creators who operate primarily through digital platforms while building tangible community programmes.

The November ceremony will bring together nominees, honourees and guests in Accra for a formal celebration of these achievements. As further honorary recipients are announced and voting continues in the competitive categories, attention will remain on the full slate of individuals whose work the organisers seek to spotlight.

For Chef Abbys, the recognition adds to a rapid sequence of national and international acknowledgements that have marked her transition from campus cooking videos to a broader platform as a culinary ambassador and social impact advocate. The EMY honour underscores the growing visibility of food creators who treat African cuisine as both cultural expression and a tool for community engagement.