An assistant on the left, Chef Stone (centre) and Chef Charlie Koffi on the right during one of their live gastronomical showcases at the 2024 CANEX WKND.
Stone, Sherazade, Charlie Koffi, Siba Mtongana, Rabah Ourrad, Natasha De Bourg, Yasmina Sellam Benlemalem and Ndidi Nwuneli have one thing in common: Love for cooking.
But they say the rich African recipes are often missing out on menus worldwide, even in Africa.
“Our cuisine is unappreciated,” said Mtongana, a South African multiaward-winning chef, restaurateur and author.
Speaking at the Creative Africa Nexus (Canex) 2024 in Algiers, she cited ugali, the mielie meal made from maize flour cooked in boiling water or milk which is widely eaten across Africa, where it goes by different local names: posho, papa, nsima, pap, sima, sadza, isitshwala, akume, amawe, ewokpe and akple.
“Our cuisine has not yet been codified to international standards. We need to create credible restaurants at home and then export the culinary. We need to create a base here at home first,” said Rabah Ourrad, an Algerian chef, echoing Mtongana’s sentiments.
Mtongana pointed out that the culinary school syllabus in South Africa does not provide for African culinary arts but rather students are taught European styles.
“We need to educate and sensitise Africans to treasure our African ingredients for food. We should change their mindset to not only look to the West,” added Chef Stone from Nigeria.
Chef Rabah said he spent 20 years in Europe learning his craft.
“African governments need to entice the African chefs abroad to come back home and invest in restaurants on the continent. We need to transfer the knowledge to the young chefs, and this is the very important if we are to grow the industry,” said.
In her statement at the opening ceremony of the Canex Gastronomy and Culinary Arts Programme, the Matron of Afreximbank Spouse Network Chinelo Oramah said: “African food remains underrepresented in the global culinary landscape. Despite the rich diversity of our cuisines, only about 1 percent of fine dining restaurants worldwide feature African culinary offerings. This is a stark contrast to the fact that the global fine dining market is projected to reach $250 billion by 2027.”
“It must also be noted that the cost of starting and maintaining a fine dining restaurant can be high, with initial investment estimates ranging from $500,000 to over $1 million, depending on location and concept. Potential owners often face the challenge of securing financing or finding suitable locations. It is therefore clear, once again, that African integration to the global fine dining market is constrained by lack of access to capital,” she added.
Afreximbank, the sponsor of Canex, has explored the concept of franchising as a means to propagate our food culture.
“A franchise strategy supported by Afreximbank could be transformational, allowing us to establish fine dining restaurants globally. This is an incredible opportunity to introduce African and Caribbean cuisines to wider audiences, especially given that 70 percent of consumers express a desire to try new and diverse cuisines. Moreover, research indicates that African cuisine can enhance food tourism, which was valued at approximately $500 billion globally in 2019, and is projected to grow rapidly in the years ahead,” Chinelo said.
The theme for this year’s four-day Canex was: “One People, United in Culture, Creating for the World.” The event featured 4,000 delegates representing a diversity of creative sectors from across Africa and the diaspora.
