WEBVTT - Fulani Foodways with Chef Binta 0:00:03.279 --> 0:00:06.720 I'm Chef Binter originally from Sierra Leone, but I'm now 0:00:06.760 --> 0:00:09.960 based in Akra, Ghana. I've been here for over nine years. 0:00:11.400 --> 0:00:15.040 I'm the founder and executive chef at Fuller Nickeachin Fuller 0:00:15.120 --> 0:00:19.160 Nickechen is a additional nomadic prop up restaurants and our 0:00:19.160 --> 0:00:21.920 main goal is to promote full and Nikesine but also 0:00:21.960 --> 0:00:29.240 puts up the culture. So in a nutshell, what we've 0:00:29.320 --> 0:00:33.440 been doing is traveling across Africa, documenting all the full 0:00:33.520 --> 0:00:37.360 and stories from different Fullaning communities and hosting pop ups 0:00:37.400 --> 0:00:41.520 around it. Inspired by all these different communities across Africa. 0:00:44.520 --> 0:00:54.440 Oh good, Welcome back to the point of origin. On 0:00:54.480 --> 0:00:58.360 today's episode, we're talking about full Learning foodways and cuisine 0:00:58.880 --> 0:01:04.080 with Chef Fatma into the Fula. Fulani or fu Bay 0:01:04.120 --> 0:01:06.840 are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahil 0:01:07.040 --> 0:01:12.240 and West Africa, Dispersed across the region and inhabiting many countries. 0:01:13.319 --> 0:01:16.199 They live mainly in West Africa and the northern parts 0:01:16.200 --> 0:01:20.280 of Central Africa, but also in South Sudan and Sudan 0:01:21.000 --> 0:01:25.679 and regions near the Red Sea coast. Chef Benta is 0:01:25.760 --> 0:01:30.679 an indelible ambassador of Fulani food. Born and raised in Freetown, 0:01:30.720 --> 0:01:36.080 Sierra Leon to first generation Sierra Leonian fulanis of Ghanaian descent. 0:01:37.080 --> 0:01:41.720 Binta describes herself as a modern nomadic chef and as 0:01:41.760 --> 0:01:44.840 you're here in the episode, she's just doing what her 0:01:44.880 --> 0:01:53.960 people have done all along. So both my grandparents owned 0:01:53.960 --> 0:01:59.200 like a kukui um store actually, and then my mom 0:01:59.240 --> 0:02:03.240 also you used to sell like a street food. We 0:02:03.320 --> 0:02:07.080 have something clotical life, right, so she would sell that 0:02:07.160 --> 0:02:13.400 in our like like our small store. Um. So my 0:02:13.600 --> 0:02:17.240 love for its go from there, and I remembered like 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:21.040 I would go to school, come back home and my 0:02:21.160 --> 0:02:24.080 job was like the glorified steward for my grandmother. I 0:02:24.160 --> 0:02:27.480 was washing pots that are so big I could probably 0:02:27.520 --> 0:02:30.519 fit into. So that was my job. So my love 0:02:30.560 --> 0:02:37.840 for it started there and studied international relations, left Sierra Leone, traveled, 0:02:38.520 --> 0:02:42.520 came back and then I had an AhR moment that 0:02:43.320 --> 0:02:49.560 this is what I love. Why not focus? So that's 0:02:49.560 --> 0:02:52.720 how my journeys started. And then went to colinary school 0:02:52.800 --> 0:02:57.400 in Naiobi, worked in hotels and got bored at some 0:02:57.480 --> 0:03:00.760 point because I had this try if when it comes 0:03:00.760 --> 0:03:04.200 to like just sharing the food. Also my worries when 0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:07.040 it comes to the culture fading a way, people not 0:03:07.280 --> 0:03:11.640 understanding the cuisine, and I took a lip of it 0:03:12.080 --> 0:03:17.359 to quit my stable, hotel job and full and the 0:03:17.440 --> 0:03:22.400 kitchen and Krisin. Through her Dining a Dinner series, Chef 0:03:22.400 --> 0:03:27.520 Pinter gives guests traditional nomadic dining experiences highlighting full learning 0:03:27.600 --> 0:03:32.600 culture and cuisine. The dinners combine her nomadic Fulani roots 0:03:33.280 --> 0:03:41.920 and formal training at the Kenyan Culinary Institute. So that 0:03:41.960 --> 0:03:45.000 was it. And most of the Fulling communities like people there. 0:03:45.000 --> 0:03:48.120 They were really excited about it because these people have 0:03:48.280 --> 0:03:51.480 moved for years. Some of them don't know how the 0:03:51.600 --> 0:03:56.040 food tastes like anymore. Um So me bringing all these 0:03:56.200 --> 0:03:59.480 ingredients and getting everyone on the mat and them having 0:03:59.520 --> 0:04:02.880 to like a experience the food, it was very It 0:04:03.000 --> 0:04:05.840 was like a deja vu moment for most people. Shoes 0:04:05.880 --> 0:04:08.440 are not allowed and once guests have made their way 0:04:08.440 --> 0:04:11.160 to the mat, they are greeted with a welcoming drink 0:04:11.560 --> 0:04:15.560 like watermelon and ginger beer. The starter is based on 0:04:15.600 --> 0:04:18.640 the theme of the event and explains the context and 0:04:18.720 --> 0:04:23.040 history of the dishes ingredients. The main dish, chef Bnter 0:04:23.160 --> 0:04:28.080 describes as bold like coat testicles or phonio salad. The 0:04:28.200 --> 0:04:32.320 evening ends with traditional tea and an opportunity to ask 0:04:32.400 --> 0:04:38.080 questions about the food and traditions of Fulani people. Yeah, 0:04:38.120 --> 0:04:42.000 so moving to Guinea, having to be in a village 0:04:42.000 --> 0:04:48.840 where there's no electricity, um, very small village and having 0:04:48.880 --> 0:04:52.840 to like fetch firewood, gets food from the farm and 0:04:52.880 --> 0:04:57.640 prepare it's everything was done from scratch. So that's really 0:04:57.680 --> 0:05:01.200 shaped me as a chef in how also I tell 0:05:01.279 --> 0:05:05.200 my story because I got to experience all that um 0:05:05.240 --> 0:05:09.320 when I was around my teenage years, so that really 0:05:09.320 --> 0:05:12.839 influenced me as a chef and my love also for 0:05:12.880 --> 0:05:16.239 full and cuisine and preserving it's because that is really 0:05:16.279 --> 0:05:21.599 hard to experience now. Most of these villages are kind 0:05:21.640 --> 0:05:26.240 of disappearing because most of the young people don't go 0:05:26.360 --> 0:05:29.800 back and stay in the villages anymore, and all are 0:05:29.839 --> 0:05:33.600 like our elders, grandmothers, grand no just grandparents and general 0:05:33.680 --> 0:05:37.080 most of them have had have passed away, so it's 0:05:37.080 --> 0:05:40.719 really hard to go back and get um the originality 0:05:40.880 --> 0:05:44.160 of fun and the cuisine and the storytelling in general. 0:05:44.200 --> 0:05:47.839 Because we were colonized by the British, so it's mostly British, 0:05:47.880 --> 0:05:51.360 partly Nigeria. And also because we have. We have like 0:05:51.520 --> 0:05:54.960 one of the largest type in Sierra Leone. They are 0:05:55.000 --> 0:06:00.240 originally from um Nigeria. They are called the Forbes and 0:06:00.279 --> 0:06:02.920 if you look back, they're actually from the yellow bath type. 0:06:03.400 --> 0:06:05.680 So there are so many similarity when it comes to 0:06:05.760 --> 0:06:08.760 the Nigeria and food like things like something they called 0:06:08.880 --> 0:06:11.000 more and more in Nigeria. We also have it. We 0:06:11.120 --> 0:06:14.760 call it all in allen So and our food is 0:06:14.880 --> 0:06:17.880 very small leafy and it goes with a lot of ice, 0:06:17.920 --> 0:06:20.640 with rice, a lot in sill, so a bit of that. 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:25.160 But mostly my focus has been fullany because then I 0:06:25.200 --> 0:06:29.279 grew up with in like Sierra Leone dishes and I 0:06:29.360 --> 0:06:32.440 have so much love for it. Something I enjoyed um. 0:06:32.480 --> 0:06:34.680 I also go back to it sometimes and just take 0:06:34.720 --> 0:06:39.840 inspiration and creating things and the beauty of infusing um 0:06:39.880 --> 0:06:42.600 full and a cuisine and silen and because it's always 0:06:42.600 --> 0:06:46.239 easy for me, because you know Sila, we share borders 0:06:46.320 --> 0:06:49.120 and we share also even our cuisine. We we it's 0:06:49.160 --> 0:06:52.760 almost the same thing. There's not much difference. It's the same. 0:06:56.920 --> 0:07:00.440 Fulani food is mostly prepared using ingredients that are sun 0:07:00.520 --> 0:07:04.680 dried and can be preserved for months. The diet is 0:07:04.720 --> 0:07:09.560 mainly derived from cattle and includes dairy items like yogurt, milk, butter, 0:07:09.720 --> 0:07:14.800 and meat, ground nuts, starches like sorghum, corn and fonio, 0:07:15.440 --> 0:07:18.840 a nutritious grain with a nutty taste and a pebble 0:07:18.920 --> 0:07:22.240 like texture that's native to Africa round out the diet. 0:07:23.600 --> 0:07:26.520 Like the black herdsman or cowboys of the mid nineteenth 0:07:26.520 --> 0:07:30.800 century in Texas, the Fulani people are nomadic and raised 0:07:30.880 --> 0:07:39.080 cattle primarily for the purposes of business. Most things that 0:07:39.120 --> 0:07:41.480 people confuse is that the thing we eat meat a lot. 0:07:41.600 --> 0:07:44.640 I will start with that we do it for business 0:07:44.880 --> 0:07:48.680 full and is mostly focused on offers, like we eat 0:07:48.720 --> 0:07:52.240 offers a lot. So most times if we slaughter, for example, 0:07:52.320 --> 0:07:56.080 a cow, who sell everything else and they will save 0:07:56.240 --> 0:07:59.440 the offers for the for like for cooking at home. 0:07:59.760 --> 0:08:05.400 And sound right also to our our food, our dishes, 0:08:05.520 --> 0:08:09.480 our ingredients in general is mostly sound right. And that 0:08:09.800 --> 0:08:12.840 is because we are always moving, so that's our way 0:08:12.840 --> 0:08:18.600 of preserving our ingredients for the next migration. And we 0:08:18.720 --> 0:08:21.400 eat corn a lot. Corn is a huge part of 0:08:21.400 --> 0:08:24.920 our diet. Um things like for new is a huge 0:08:24.920 --> 0:08:28.800 part of our diet. And then also rice, the local 0:08:28.920 --> 0:08:32.720 rice um it's a huge part of our diet. Vegetables 0:08:32.840 --> 0:08:36.280 not much because we hardly thinks that are fresh. So 0:08:36.320 --> 0:08:39.040 even when it comes to vegetable sound right and things 0:08:39.080 --> 0:08:41.960 like oh well, um, even though it's vegetables, we actually 0:08:41.960 --> 0:08:47.120 have a dish that's really interesting. Um we sound different 0:08:47.120 --> 0:08:51.000 different types of vegetables with vegetables and then cook that 0:08:51.240 --> 0:08:55.520 into one part which the other parts in Africa call them, 0:08:56.840 --> 0:09:00.680 but we make it one and then um, add salt 0:09:00.880 --> 0:09:05.440 and just dried chilies. So have we don't. That's that 0:09:05.480 --> 0:09:08.200 we don't exporting so much. So it's mostly sound dried. 0:09:08.559 --> 0:09:14.880 That must be a very intensely flavored broth. That sun 0:09:15.000 --> 0:09:18.280 drying that sounds good. So when you do the sun drying, 0:09:18.760 --> 0:09:20.720 how does it work? You like lay down a mat 0:09:21.000 --> 0:09:24.520 or something and then cut the vegetables in half and 0:09:24.559 --> 0:09:27.040 then let them stay out in the sun for how long? 0:09:27.960 --> 0:09:32.320 So we don't use maths because we believe that the 0:09:32.400 --> 0:09:36.240 math is only mens for players or eating in the 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:38.920 evenings with the families. So it's almost like we respect 0:09:39.000 --> 0:09:41.000 the math so much. That's why you're not even allowed 0:09:41.040 --> 0:09:44.440 to like step foot with like slippers, not allowed to 0:09:44.440 --> 0:09:47.280 bring and his shoes or slippers on the maps and 0:09:47.320 --> 0:09:50.040 that's something also practice. When I'm most in events, we 0:09:50.240 --> 0:09:52.520 have like a corner where everybody will live their shoes. 0:09:52.840 --> 0:09:55.560 So when it comes to where sundry are things, we 0:09:55.679 --> 0:10:00.240 normally use clay which will mix with the cows punk 0:10:01.240 --> 0:10:05.800 mm hmm. And so we designed the space for sun drying, 0:10:06.800 --> 0:10:11.200 so patterns really nice lay sticks around. Um create that 0:10:11.280 --> 0:10:13.960 space only for sound drying things, or they will build 0:10:14.080 --> 0:10:17.200 raxis and sticks. Even the homes because you know our 0:10:17.240 --> 0:10:21.079 homes also can be dismantled. It's it's movable. We create 0:10:21.160 --> 0:10:24.400 space inside like a pantry which we will hang our 0:10:24.400 --> 0:10:27.560 account and then also just keep any other thing that 0:10:28.520 --> 0:10:31.640 related to food and cooking. Where does most of the 0:10:31.679 --> 0:10:36.280 beef girl that is raised or that that folaney or selling, 0:10:36.320 --> 0:10:39.320 Where does most of the girl local to the market, 0:10:39.520 --> 0:10:42.960 you know, slaughter and cell and most of the During 0:10:43.000 --> 0:10:46.840 this piece thing I was doing, I realized that sometimes 0:10:46.840 --> 0:10:49.040 even the cattles the area and it's not it doesn't 0:10:49.040 --> 0:10:52.960 belong to them. They do it for like politicians because 0:10:53.000 --> 0:10:54.800 they know how to do it. They know how to 0:10:54.840 --> 0:10:58.439 handle cattles. So people would decide to do it as 0:10:58.440 --> 0:11:01.559 a business and then almost like outsource it to a 0:11:01.640 --> 0:11:04.720 fully look fun to handle it for them, and then 0:11:04.760 --> 0:11:09.000 they will pay the person. Um, yeah, start the amount 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:13.440 of which m should we add the cattle for them? Wow? 0:11:13.760 --> 0:11:16.880 And that's very complex because then you have people who 0:11:16.960 --> 0:11:22.240 are in power who are actually encouraging Fulani to raise cattle. 0:11:22.480 --> 0:11:25.280 But then the neighbors are taking it out on the Fulani. 0:11:25.559 --> 0:11:28.760 But this is what they need to make a living living, 0:11:28.840 --> 0:11:31.120 and they are quiet about it because they can't even 0:11:31.200 --> 0:11:35.559 comment maybe immediate because right, of course, of course it's 0:11:35.679 --> 0:11:41.080 very political. So um, what are you when you're in 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:46.000 the midst of those um negotiations? Um, what are you saying? 0:11:46.040 --> 0:11:50.800 To people on either side? It is difficult because one 0:11:50.920 --> 0:11:53.240 most of these Fullney people they don't even understand the 0:11:53.280 --> 0:12:00.680 local language. And because they don't expect borders. I would say, 0:12:00.720 --> 0:12:07.520 we don't we we don't expect borders, so and they 0:12:07.559 --> 0:12:10.120 will come and settle. So whenever they has a fight, 0:12:10.760 --> 0:12:14.680 the locals will just impose the laws on them. For example, 0:12:14.720 --> 0:12:16.920 We're going to find you. If your cattles in, then 0:12:17.160 --> 0:12:20.160 we're finding you this and they are forced to just 0:12:21.080 --> 0:12:24.400 do it, and sometimes they can be stubborn also they're like, no, 0:12:24.480 --> 0:12:27.480 I'm not doing and they will settled there the knowledge 0:12:27.520 --> 0:12:30.920 is start, so it's it's very chaotic. I always try 0:12:30.960 --> 0:12:33.600 to go there communicate, so I'll talk to them what's 0:12:33.640 --> 0:12:35.800 the problem is. They'll tell me fullarney, and then I 0:12:35.800 --> 0:12:39.040 will explain to the locals, which are like chiefs and 0:12:39.080 --> 0:12:42.440 all that. So it's it's hard. We end up settling 0:12:42.559 --> 0:12:45.560 it and then I'll come back to accur focus on 0:12:45.640 --> 0:12:47.480 my work and then the next one week or two 0:12:47.480 --> 0:12:49.920 weeks they'll call you again for the same issue. So 0:12:49.960 --> 0:12:52.480 I'm like, you know what I think, if you people 0:12:52.600 --> 0:12:57.600 are working together, you you understand the importance of agriculture, 0:12:58.040 --> 0:13:01.319 it will be easy, you know, whens to handing all 0:13:01.400 --> 0:13:03.920 this because they would also help in terms of protecting 0:13:04.440 --> 0:13:06.600 so if it's hard for them to get like a 0:13:06.679 --> 0:13:10.600 green air for the curtles after and then they would 0:13:10.600 --> 0:13:13.839 want to move. And one thing I've been also kind 0:13:13.880 --> 0:13:17.080 of course going to convince them is that this moving 0:13:17.320 --> 0:13:21.640 is very historic. You don't even need to move your cows. Honestly, 0:13:21.679 --> 0:13:23.720 when you think about it, you can just create a 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:27.240 ranch and keep them in and feed them. But because 0:13:27.280 --> 0:13:32.200 of lack of education also just understanding in generality believe 0:13:33.120 --> 0:13:35.360 because it has been for like how many years, they 0:13:35.440 --> 0:13:39.120 just move, move when you can actually just be in 0:13:39.160 --> 0:13:42.439 one place. It's it's it's time we work smart. That's 0:13:42.520 --> 0:13:45.520 one thing I've been trying to, like um, convince them 0:13:45.559 --> 0:13:49.720 on it's time it works smart. This moving it's something 0:13:49.800 --> 0:13:52.480 that is very historic. You don't have to move anymore 0:13:53.120 --> 0:13:56.240 for you to you know, um, feed your your cattle. 0:14:04.320 --> 0:14:07.640 The situation depicted by Chef bin To here is a 0:14:07.679 --> 0:14:12.640 tense one. Fulani herdsmen are a nomadic group believed to 0:14:12.679 --> 0:14:15.480 be the largest of their kind in the world, and 0:14:15.559 --> 0:14:20.320 found across West and Central Africa. In search of abundant 0:14:20.320 --> 0:14:25.040 grass and water for cattle, herders inevitably will clash with farmers. 0:14:26.160 --> 0:14:30.720 These disagreements have turned violent, and armed herdsmen claim to 0:14:30.760 --> 0:14:34.040 have been provoked from armed gangs and farming communities who 0:14:34.080 --> 0:14:37.120 are trying to steal their cattle. As a warming planet 0:14:37.160 --> 0:14:41.840 diminishes grazing lands, Fulani herdsmen have gone further and further south, 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:47.280 and so too has their conflict. And like many violent conflicts, 0:14:47.800 --> 0:14:52.480 it is based on the land. But since herders are 0:14:52.480 --> 0:14:56.320 selling mostly to local markets, the same communities who are 0:14:56.360 --> 0:14:59.200 condemning them are also the ones that are keeping them 0:14:59.200 --> 0:15:03.760 in business. Steps to expand and contain grazing areas are 0:15:03.800 --> 0:15:08.120 now being taken and with these sometimes deadly conflicts as 0:15:08.160 --> 0:15:12.000 the backdrop, chef bent his work as a culinary ambassador. 0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:15.600 It's more of the latter and less of the former. 0:15:18.600 --> 0:15:22.960 And Fulani fresh milk is termed because some and yogurt 0:15:23.440 --> 0:15:29.160 pinda on a popular milk is fermented milk with corn couscous, 0:15:29.720 --> 0:15:43.280 which is referred to as latch cheerity or One question 0:15:43.360 --> 0:15:48.760 I've I've always wondered is because we talk about like 0:15:49.120 --> 0:15:52.400 I know that folks, black folks and really um, the 0:15:52.440 --> 0:15:57.880 majority of the world has a hard time processing dairy. 0:15:58.360 --> 0:16:02.480 Um do are Foolani people? Like do you all have 0:16:02.560 --> 0:16:05.440 different stomachs or something? Or do you not? Do you 0:16:05.520 --> 0:16:09.600 not eat dairy? Like is it a different experience? Like 0:16:10.000 --> 0:16:12.960 of course I'm kidding, but like what like where does 0:16:13.120 --> 0:16:17.320 dairy fit into the to the diet? And um? Is 0:16:17.360 --> 0:16:25.400 it's something that just people UM are able to absorb somehow? Listen. 0:16:25.480 --> 0:16:28.720 I've also wondered because when I was younger, I could 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:35.640 handle it, but now whenever I cross avocate it story. 0:16:36.600 --> 0:16:41.360 But I think it has to do with UM, your 0:16:41.600 --> 0:16:45.400 system in general. That's what they know that's what they've 0:16:46.640 --> 0:16:49.360 they've eating since they want because even has a baby. 0:16:49.400 --> 0:16:52.240 They pastelize the milk. We even pasteurize our own milk. 0:16:52.320 --> 0:16:55.160 Who have like this God, We will put the milk 0:16:55.200 --> 0:16:58.640 and boil it for some time traditionally and then shake. 0:16:58.760 --> 0:17:01.440 They have a way to hold and dance and it's 0:17:01.880 --> 0:17:06.720 so semonious. That's not just about specialize in the milk. 0:17:07.080 --> 0:17:09.920 They have a particular song they will sing while they're 0:17:09.920 --> 0:17:13.119 doing it. They have a particular dance. So it's not 0:17:13.200 --> 0:17:15.960 just about the food. It's also about them put in 0:17:16.000 --> 0:17:20.800 the culture, having this addition, you know, around it. So 0:17:21.200 --> 0:17:23.840 I think it's the system in general. They are used 0:17:23.880 --> 0:17:27.320 to eat adaptation. M hm. That's so amazing to me. 0:17:28.000 --> 0:17:30.159 I really, I really wish I had a fool on 0:17:30.200 --> 0:17:34.480 his stomach as much as much the area as I eat. 0:17:34.600 --> 0:17:41.879 I just suffer. You can't, guy, you get used to it. Um, 0:17:42.600 --> 0:17:45.879 what about I know that you do a lot of 0:17:45.920 --> 0:17:50.600 work with funio. Chef Pierre Tom is a big, big 0:17:50.600 --> 0:17:54.800 inspiration a hero for me. Um, Can you talk a 0:17:54.800 --> 0:17:58.440 little bit about funnio and and how that plays into 0:17:58.520 --> 0:18:02.600 your food as well? Okay, so for me, um, my 0:18:02.680 --> 0:18:04.919 love for it goes all the way back during that 0:18:05.000 --> 0:18:08.920 Civil war. Because I come from a huge family. I'm 0:18:08.960 --> 0:18:13.879 talking over one cousins. I am not joking, so cause 0:18:13.920 --> 0:18:18.720 imagine my my mom come comes from a very large family, 0:18:18.800 --> 0:18:21.320 my dad and all of these people going into this 0:18:21.440 --> 0:18:24.359 small village during the Civil war. You have over three 0:18:24.880 --> 0:18:29.280 people in this village and the rice couldn't sustain us. 0:18:29.520 --> 0:18:31.919 So it was really hard and the only thing that 0:18:32.000 --> 0:18:35.240 could really sustain us during that time was for New. 0:18:35.320 --> 0:18:39.119 It's easy to grow and also it doesn't take much time. 0:18:39.720 --> 0:18:43.600 It's to twelve weeks you can harvest, so it started 0:18:43.640 --> 0:18:48.840 there um and then I also learned a lot of 0:18:49.000 --> 0:18:52.680 recipes when I was in the village. So after I 0:18:52.720 --> 0:18:56.320 started trending reading about Chef P. L. Cham and seeing 0:18:56.400 --> 0:18:59.880 all the interesting things he was doing with for New, 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:05.760 I decided to jump on the the wagon and promote 0:19:05.760 --> 0:19:10.239 it because it's something I eat all too growing up 0:19:10.600 --> 0:19:17.359 and then also have experienced firsthand how it came, how 0:19:17.400 --> 0:19:21.679 healthy it is, how also where it comes to sustainability 0:19:21.680 --> 0:19:26.720 in general. So for me it was important to no 0:19:26.960 --> 0:19:30.199 like be a voice for it was very important for me. 0:19:30.280 --> 0:19:32.919 So it's actually a huge part of my menu. I 0:19:33.000 --> 0:19:35.879 always try to share Phni. It's one of the status 0:19:36.080 --> 0:19:38.720 we use. It's the most we hardly use rice. Phon 0:19:38.760 --> 0:19:42.680 new is the biggest. UM. This is a huge part. 0:19:42.840 --> 0:19:44.480 It's in a nut shell. It's a huge part of 0:19:44.520 --> 0:19:48.120 my menu. It's actually hard to process. That's why because 0:19:48.640 --> 0:19:51.200 mostly like in the village, is because I actually work 0:19:51.280 --> 0:19:54.040 with women. We go phonew in the north of Ghana, 0:19:54.760 --> 0:19:57.679 and in the beginning there were only doing this it's 0:19:57.680 --> 0:20:00.480 traditional way. That's why I actually had to like stepping 0:20:00.760 --> 0:20:04.240 in terms of working getting people involved in order to 0:20:04.520 --> 0:20:08.560 help with machines and stuff. It's really tedious and at 0:20:08.600 --> 0:20:11.680 the end of the day after going through all that process, 0:20:11.720 --> 0:20:15.840 sometimes you get so much sand in it um because 0:20:15.880 --> 0:20:18.640 also you know, the grains are so tiny, the same 0:20:18.680 --> 0:20:23.600 size of a sand, So it's extremely tedious. So UM 0:20:23.720 --> 0:20:26.879 the reason why I started this movement when I was 0:20:27.080 --> 0:20:30.119 visiting for like inspiration and meeting these full learning women 0:20:30.960 --> 0:20:34.800 and some of them were complaining that, um, we're actually 0:20:34.840 --> 0:20:37.800 tired of staying home doing the same thing and women 0:20:37.840 --> 0:20:40.560 are not allowed also to own landing Ghana especially and 0:20:40.640 --> 0:20:43.879 they're not, so they wanted to get involved in this 0:20:44.280 --> 0:20:48.600 UM share it like processing Phonio just so they keep 0:20:48.640 --> 0:20:53.240 themselves busy. But the men challenge around this round. This 0:20:53.280 --> 0:20:56.280 is processing it, and these women do it on a 0:20:56.359 --> 0:20:58.720 daily basis because for them in the knot, that's like 0:20:58.920 --> 0:21:04.520 huge part of their diet. It. Our food is very 0:21:04.600 --> 0:21:09.360 plain and simple. So mostly we use for like enhancing 0:21:09.440 --> 0:21:13.960 flavor um flavoring and that we use the African barbsipe 0:21:13.960 --> 0:21:18.800 peper Sunday. Our food is very plain and simple, very 0:21:18.800 --> 0:21:28.760 plain and simple. Number. I want to ask you about 0:21:29.560 --> 0:21:35.120 African cuisine. Broadly speaking, it seems kind of like and 0:21:35.160 --> 0:21:37.879 we've kind of been saying. I talked to a Nigerian 0:21:37.960 --> 0:21:43.800 chef about this, um like DEBI that African food is 0:21:44.160 --> 0:21:50.320 kind of having a moment and that it is kind 0:21:50.320 --> 0:21:56.160 of again, broadly speaking, the only cuisine that hasn't been 0:21:56.440 --> 0:22:01.680 culturally colonized so big. So I want to know if 0:22:01.720 --> 0:22:06.720 you kind of agree that African food is having a moment, 0:22:07.119 --> 0:22:11.080 if you see that as um as true um, because 0:22:11.160 --> 0:22:14.960 in a global contact or I think one African cuisine 0:22:15.000 --> 0:22:18.399 is untouched, it's actually untouched. So I always tell people 0:22:18.480 --> 0:22:22.760 that we we are modern a ngelof rice. African cuisines 0:22:22.920 --> 0:22:27.159 were more. Actually, I don't consider jelove Frice African In 0:22:27.200 --> 0:22:31.040 case you don't know, jollof is the very popular and 0:22:31.400 --> 0:22:37.359 very contentious rice from West Africa, popularized in countries like 0:22:37.560 --> 0:22:41.920 Nigeria and Gambia and Senegal. And if you'd like to 0:22:42.040 --> 0:22:45.359 learn more about it and the beef behind it, you 0:22:45.400 --> 0:22:49.480 can listen to Point of Origin episode eleven where Chef 0:22:49.640 --> 0:22:53.639 your One Day Komo Lafe breaks it down in detail. Okay, 0:22:53.680 --> 0:22:58.560 back to Chef Mente. I just think it's just traveled 0:22:58.600 --> 0:23:01.679 all over the place and everybody they have their own version. 0:23:02.359 --> 0:23:05.560 So but it's a good thing because I think Joelofe 0:23:05.680 --> 0:23:09.639 has brought some attention also to African cuisine. Um, it 0:23:09.760 --> 0:23:13.240 has given us platforms also, so I feel like we 0:23:13.320 --> 0:23:17.240 have so much. It is rich. We we have no 0:23:17.320 --> 0:23:21.080 idea it is. There is so much because one thing also, 0:23:21.080 --> 0:23:24.919 I've realized the more I explore, the more curious I 0:23:24.960 --> 0:23:27.800 get when it comes to African cuisin, the more adventures 0:23:27.880 --> 0:23:30.720 I get to learn a lot. And then I also 0:23:30.800 --> 0:23:34.960 tend to like see all these similarities. Um, but I 0:23:34.960 --> 0:23:40.520 feel like sometimes it is not represented well in my opinion. UM. 0:23:40.560 --> 0:23:44.359 I remember going to an African restaurant in New York 0:23:44.520 --> 0:23:49.159 and I was expecting um a particular dish, which I 0:23:49.720 --> 0:23:55.359 know how important that dishes to called that culture, that's 0:23:55.400 --> 0:23:59.679 part of the world, and it was fused. So I 0:23:59.720 --> 0:24:03.560 really feel like we twick it. Sometimes it's it's the 0:24:03.600 --> 0:24:06.080 twicky too much because if you're eating French, because in 0:24:06.160 --> 0:24:10.040 it's French. In creating Chinese, it is Chinese creating Japanese food, 0:24:10.040 --> 0:24:13.760 it is Japanese food. So I really hope that we 0:24:13.880 --> 0:24:18.680 can embrace it as it is um all its flavors, 0:24:18.800 --> 0:24:22.520 its spiciness, the richness um. And if you want to 0:24:22.560 --> 0:24:24.320 make it look pretty, you can make it look pretty, 0:24:24.560 --> 0:24:36.639 but the tests should be original. So your view is 0:24:36.680 --> 0:24:45.200 that African cuisine is untouched, meaning that the versions that 0:24:45.280 --> 0:24:48.399 we're seeing, maybe like in restaurants it's particularly fair in 0:24:48.400 --> 0:24:54.560 the US, are such a small part. Yes, it's infinite 0:24:55.560 --> 0:24:59.879 everything that, Yeah, this this this interesting thing that we 0:25:00.080 --> 0:25:04.840 have it it is amazing. So I always I think 0:25:04.840 --> 0:25:08.159 it's important for us to know the base before we 0:25:08.200 --> 0:25:11.399 play around with it. It's okay to fuse, it's okay 0:25:11.400 --> 0:25:16.040 to recreate, but understand the the ingredients, understand the flavor building, 0:25:16.600 --> 0:25:20.240 understand the original dish itself before you you play around 0:25:20.240 --> 0:25:23.960 with it. Sometimes it's it's hard because there are days 0:25:24.000 --> 0:25:27.200 I just want to stay one of their persons authentic 0:25:27.760 --> 0:25:31.160 because if I'm trying to like preserve it. So that's 0:25:31.160 --> 0:25:33.480 why I documents a lot. Whenever I go to these 0:25:33.480 --> 0:25:37.600 full learning communities, I documents the authentic recipes that I 0:25:37.600 --> 0:25:42.200 will learn from the grandmother, different things, and then our 0:25:42.240 --> 0:25:44.919 document those. And there are days also I try to 0:25:45.040 --> 0:25:48.880 fuse it because sometimes it can only be that appealing 0:25:49.160 --> 0:25:52.000 to someone who doesn't know this cuising. It can only 0:25:52.040 --> 0:25:55.360 be appealing if you fuse it because and that's why 0:25:55.400 --> 0:25:59.560 I believe also m most other full oarning chaps has 0:26:00.000 --> 0:26:03.840 A don't really invested their time in it because Um 0:26:03.840 --> 0:26:07.560 stephanitiely it can actually be and it takes passion. It 0:26:07.640 --> 0:26:23.840 takes passion to really do it. One thing I would 0:26:23.880 --> 0:26:27.520 love to share with you also because it's it has 0:26:27.560 --> 0:26:31.280 been like a learning process for me. Um. A year 0:26:31.320 --> 0:26:36.159 ago I started working with Angio as an ambassador for 0:26:36.440 --> 0:26:39.600 peace between the full and eas and the farmers because 0:26:39.640 --> 0:26:42.840 they've been fighting a lot and we've been working on 0:26:42.960 --> 0:26:45.720 that because we want to get the full and people 0:26:45.800 --> 0:26:49.000 involving farming because they don't actually believe when it comes 0:26:49.000 --> 0:26:52.760 to like farming in general. Um, their focus more is 0:26:52.760 --> 0:26:55.320 on gir and cattle and that has caused a lot 0:26:55.359 --> 0:26:59.800 of problems when comes to like the farmers and the headsmen, 0:27:00.280 --> 0:27:04.679 because the cattles we go and invade the farm and 0:27:04.760 --> 0:27:08.800 destroy the firm, and we we've been trying to like 0:27:09.280 --> 0:27:12.120 educate them. Yeah, if they believe in farming, they will 0:27:12.160 --> 0:27:16.160 help the farmers protect the farm. But because they don't 0:27:16.200 --> 0:27:18.640 believe much on it, that's why they leave the cattles 0:27:18.680 --> 0:27:21.439 to go and invade, and cattle invasion has caused a 0:27:21.440 --> 0:27:26.560 lot of problems across Africa. So yeah, that's one thing 0:27:26.680 --> 0:27:29.600 we've been focusing on. That's that's very sensitive when you 0:27:29.600 --> 0:27:36.280 say headsmen right right, especially if there are Foulani farmers 0:27:36.359 --> 0:27:41.239 you mean exactly, no, just local farmers. So because they 0:27:41.240 --> 0:27:44.800 will come in, so they'll move into a town and 0:27:44.840 --> 0:27:47.919 then they will settle and they always try to like 0:27:48.000 --> 0:27:51.440