Chuck Achike is not easy to pin down, nor does he want to be. To speak with him is to sit in a whirlwind of calm intention and creative chaos; ideas tumble out one after the other, rarely fully formed but brimming with potential. Known by many for his work in front of the camera, Chuck’s journey began in modelling, but it was never going to end there. Today, he's an artist, a culinary innovator, and a father, roles he weaves together with a quiet confidence that speaks to a deeper philosophy: everything, from the layout of a plate to the stroke of a brush, is an extension of the self.
Chuck’s creative story began in fashion, a world of aesthetics, precision and performance. His modelling work brought him into the orbit of designers, stylists, photographers, and directors, each with their own process, their own lens. He watched. He absorbed. But what intrigued him more than the flashbulbs was the thought behind them: how a look was built, how stories were told visually. Modelling was a vehicle and not a destination.
He pursued graphic design at college, a decision that may have surprised those who only knew him for his physical presence. But Chuck has always been driven by detail. “Graphic design taught me that the magic is in the minutiae. You can spend hours tweaking typefaces and kerning, and eventually it teaches you patience. You learn to sit with a process.” It’s this patience, this eye for precision, that became the thread linking his various disciplines. Whether sketching typography, inking skin in a tattoo parlour, or plating food in a pop-up kitchen, Chuck sees it all as part of the same fabric of creativity. “Once you start paying attention to details in one space, you start noticing them everywhere. It just becomes a part of how you see the world.”
While Chuck's artistic practice evolved steadily, his foray into food was far less expected. For many, art and cooking occupy different realms, one conceptual, one practical. But for Chuck, the two are inseparable. “Food is art. It’s colour, it’s balance and composition. It’s also memory. You cook to remember things, to honour people.” His culinary expression is not rooted in pretension but in playfulness. “I’m drawn to novelty, weird little things that make people smile. So I thought, why not bring that into the kitchen? Why not make kitchen towels or aprons that are beautifully designed, or even playful hardware , knives, cutlery, that are sculptural as much as they are functional?”
His approach is process-led, almost ritualistic. Just as an artist might return to a canvas, refining, rethinking, layering meaning, so too does Chuck approach a dish. “It takes time to get something simple just right. That’s the bit I love. The repetition, the obsession, the eventual clarity.” Amidst all of this creative exploration, one role grounds Chuck more than any other is fatherhood. It is both a responsibility and a revelation. Where some might see fatherhood as a sideline to a creative career, for Chuck, it’s the opposite, it’s the centre.
Fatherhood has shifted the way he works, both practically and emotionally. There’s less time to indulge in every idea, which means a greater commitment to clarity. It has also introduced a sense of joy, and a deeper sense of purpose. “My son sees me draw, cook, build, and I want him to know that creativity isn’t confined to galleries or studios. It’s in how you live, how you speak, how you treat people.”
There’s a tender humility in how Chuck speaks about his son, a clear sense that this relationship informs not only his output, but also his outlook. The rough edges of youth have softened into something more intentional. Chuck’s ability to move fluidly across mediums is a refusal to limit possibility. He doesn’t see himself as a ‘chef’ or an ‘artist’ or a ‘designer’. He’s simply a creative person following his instincts.
His dream? To build an immersive space where all of these elements coexist. A permanent place, part studio, part kitchen, part gallery that feels like an extension of him. “A world of my own,” he says with a grin. “Where you can eat, see, touch, and feel everything I’m trying to say.”
On 7th and 8th June, London will play host to Crowded Spaces, a two-day exhibition that marks a pivotal moment in Chuck Achike’s ever-evolving creative journey. Merging his visual art practice with his culinary sensibility, the exhibition is a full-bodied experience. Taking place in a gallery setting by day and transforming into a private dining space by night, Crowded Spaces captures Chuck’s ambition to blur the boundaries between food, art, and storytelling.
“It's about showing how both food and art are languages,” Chuck says. “They can carry culture, emotion, memory and in the right space, they speak to each other.”
At its core, Crowded Spaces is an exploration of how our physical, emotional and cultural environments converge. The title nods not only to literal crowds, gatherings, tables, city streets, but also to the crowdedness of thought, identity, and intention. Chuck’s artwork, often intimate and reflective, is complemented by edible elements, designed to extend the experience beyond the visual and into the sensory.
The guest list is as interdisciplinary as the event itself. With voices from across creative industries in attendance, Crowded Spaces aims to create a dialogue that lingers well beyond the meal. The crossover is intentional. “I wanted to create a moment where people from different worlds sit at the same table, literally and metaphorically, and leave having experienced something personal, something shared.”
