Africa

The joy of West African cuisine

Pierre Thiam is a world renowned, award-winning Senegalese-American chef, restaurateur and author. His most recent book, Simply West African, with Lisa Katayama, features recipes from the subregion. Thiam moved to New York from Dakar in the late 1980s where he worked in various restaurants and later co-founded Teranga, a fine-casual restaurant focused on selling food directly sourced from West African farmers. His company Yolélé sells food products to major U.S. retailers including Whole Foods and Amazon.

💡 What are some of the fundamental principles to succeeding in the food business?

First, creativity in order to offer an experience that appeals to the senses. Then, attention to details makes good service. Thirdly, good accounting: Every penny counts.

💡 What sets West African cuisine apart on the global stage?

West African cuisine deserves greater recognition. It has influenced many regions in the world. Particularly the Americas, through The Middle Passage, where traces of our cuisine can be found everywhere from Southern food in the U.S. to Latin America, the Caribbean, and even Mexican food. Further, West African cuisine is healthy and nutritious. The Lancet Report has ranked our traditional diet amongst the most nutritious and balanced in the world.

💡 What advice do you typically give to aspiring chefs on the continent trying to follow in your steps?

Look for inspiration in your own cuisines. Travel in the countryside to learn about food from the terroir and be curious about food from other regions of the world. Early in my career, I wanted my food to be inspired by the cuisines of my traditions.

When I was starting out, as a young cook in the so-called food capital of the world (New York city), Africa was pretty much absent, except for the occasional Ethiopian restaurants. I saw this as an opportunity. Eventually, this journey led me to opening restaurants, writing cookbooks and launching an African food brand (Yolélé). Today, I consider myself a custodian for the cuisines of my origins.

💡 Do you have a favorite African chef?

I have friends who are doing great work out there, including: Kwame Onwuachi and Eric Adjepong in the US, Coco Reinarhz in South Africa and Burundi, Dieuveil Malonga in Rwanda, Michael Elegbede in Nigeria, and Christian Abegan in Cameroon and France.

💡 We have to ask you about jollof rice: as a person of Senegalese origin, who does it best?

Ha! It’s difficult (impossible) to be objective about this. Everyone thinks his mother makes the best jollof. The beauty of food is that it transcends borders. The jollof wars highlights cultural unity within our beautiful diversity.

💡 What was the last book about Africa you read?

I am presently reading Born In Blackness by Howard French. It’s a quite fascinating, time-traveling read highlighting the role Africa and Africans played in the making of the modern world. Next on my list is Frère d’Ames, a novel by David Diop that won the International Booker Prize. It’s about African soldiers during the First World War.

Grilled tilapia and banku (Ghana)

Smoke billowing from a barbecue, a grill covered in several fish, and someone carefully slicing onions — expect these sights at any of Ghana’s many grilled fish joints. The stalls are dedicated to selling smoke-infused tilapia, a type of fish found in lakes and streams. In southern Ghana, grilled tilapia is typically served with banku — a form of dumpling.

Banku, a starchy white ball, is made by mixing fermented corn flour with cassava flour, water and salt, to form a paste. That is then rolled into spheres and boiled, before being served. Banku is widely believed to have been brought to Ghana by the Ewe people of the southeastern Volta region around the 16th century from what is now neighboring Togo. But banku, a type of staple known as “swallow” in West Africa, is a sideshow in this meal. Tilapia, arguably the most commonly eaten seafood in Ghana, is the undoubted centerpiece.

Diners are offered a range of tilapia sizes, when ordering, to suit their appetite. Whether large, medium or small, the chosen fish is typically grilled over hot charcoal. That helps to lock in a smoky flavor while ensuring that the exterior is crispy and the interior remains succulent. The fish is then served with a range of toppings and sauces to suit the diner’s taste. A combination of freshly sliced onions and tomatoes are usually sprinkled over the fish. Other accompaniments include freshly ground chili pepper, lime wedges, and shito — a condiment made with ingredients that include dried fish, prawns, garlic, and chili peppers.

The banku has a sour aftertaste, thanks to the fermented ingredients. Its tangy flavor is complemented by the smoky fish and spicy garnishes. The dish usually costs about 60 to 80 cedis ($5 - $6.50), making it pricier than the cheapest street foods, such as roasted plantains and groundnuts.

— Alexis Akwagyiram in Accra, Ghana

Semafor Africa will be on the ground at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, along with the rest of the Semafor Davos team, covering what’s happening on the main stages and lifting the curtain on what’s happening behind them.

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🇿🇲🇨🇩 Many African countries face the prospect of returning to a colonial-era political state because transnational corporations have exerted dominance over national institutions for economic benefit, writes Ben Radley in Review of African Political Economy. Radley highlights the mining industry in DR Congo and Zambia where mines were nationalized after independence. But they have experienced economic deterioration since the 1970s which prompted intervention from the West. With neoliberal institutions like the World Bank and the IMF prescribing the liberalization and privatization of state corporations, African countries have been on a path to economic recolonization.

🇳🇬 In an essay titled “A Paystack Friendship”, Fu’ad Lawal traces the genesis of what would become a fintech behemoth in Nigeria and beyond: Paystack. He focuses on the social ties connecting three friends: Paystack co-founders Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi, and Aikomo Opemipo who would later join them. What had started as a project by friends trying to find something to do back in 2016 became a huge success defined by ambition, and a streak of good luck. It would grow to become the first Nigerian company to go to Y Combinator (YC) in San Francisco before later being sold to fintech giant Stripe for $200 million.

🇿🇦 “South Africa is a deeply misunderstood country, and Musk’s statements thicken the clouds of misconceptions that swirl around it.” In an essay for The Dial, which partly serves as a book review of Walter Isaacson’s Elon Musk biography, South African-born writer Eve Fairbanks dives into the myths that the world’s richest man has helped create and spread about the country of his birth. Fairbanks points out, for example, that Musk’s claims of violent surroundings in the whites-only suburbs of his childhood seem very unlikely, just as his modern day claims of imminent “white genocide” in South Africa have been picked up more by far right media in the U.S. than South Africa itself.

🌍 Indian-operated battery recycling companies in African countries are poisoning families and destroying the environment by releasing lead fumes and other untreated waste material, a new investigation by The Examination reveals. The report, which contains interviews with residents in Congo Brazzaville, Cameroon, and Ghana, found that many people who lived near the factories suffered from pneumonia, bronchitis and persistent coughs, with the medical records attributing that to the pollution. Metssa Trading, a parent company that set up camp in Africa from India two decades ago, was found culpable, with its factories lacking safe practices to protect the people and the environment.

🗓️ The Economic Community of West African States Summit will take place in Abuja, Nigeria. The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee will attend and consult with West African leaders on how to support regional efforts to return Niger to a democratic path. (Dec. 10)

🗓️ The African Footballer of the Year will be announced at the Confederation of African Football awards in Marrakech. Leading contenders include Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi, a semi-finalist at last year’s World Cup, and Nigeria’s Victor Osimhem, whose goals led Italian side Napoli to the scudetto. (Dec. 11)

🗓️ The African Development Bank and OECD Development Centre will host an online panel to discuss the role natural gas can play in developing countries for a balance between reducing poverty, achieving a green transition and protecting the planet. (Dec. 12)

🗓️ The African Society for Laboratory Medicine will gather healthcare professionals in Cape Town to discuss laboratory medicine and the future of healthcare in Africa. (Dec. 12-15)

🗓️ Madagascar’s president Andry Rajoelina will be sworn in for a third term after winning the country’s election on Nov. 16. (Dec. 15)

• Is TikTok driving antisemitism? The firm behind a survey cited by several prominent Republicans says it didn’t conduct the analysis, create the viral graphic, or reach the widely shared conclusion.
• Russian citizens say they are living relatively normal lives despite the imposition of worldwide sanctions, according to a new poll.
• Ukraine’s mission at COP28 is a bit different than most — in addition to touting clean energy accomplishments, it seeks to punish Russia’s “environmental war crimes.”

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Happy 62nd independence day to the people of Tanzania 🇹🇿!! (Dec. 9)

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