Why are local cuisines of Africa conspicuously absent from restaurant menus in most global cities in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australasia? It’s a question that has dominated the narrative of the CANEX Gastronomy and Culinary Arts Program. The program was recently held under the auspices of the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) (WKND) 2024 Weekend in Algiers, Algeria.

Personalities from the world of visual arts, music, cinema, cinema, fashion and gastronomy participated in the CANEX program set up by Afreximbank. The objective was to facilitate the development and growth of the creative and cultural industries (CCI) in Africa and the African diaspora.

“While you will likely find a constellation of Indian, Arabic and Chinese restaurants dotting the skylines of many of these capitals, you will rarely find African restaurants,” said Moses Weunda, a Kenyan government official, adding: “I, for one, Therefore, try to settle for what is closest to my African menu, (typically Arab or Indian), often accompanied by rice, fish and others, even if they obviously lack the African touch in their taste due to ‘be prepared in a different style.

Some of the renowned and celebrated chefs from Africa and the Caribbean including Chefs Stone, Sherazade, Charlie Koffi, Siba Mtongana, Rabah Ourrad, Natasha De Bourg, Yasmina Sellam Benlemalem and Ms Ndidi Nwuneli participated in the programme. They hosted live demonstrations, masterclasses and panel discussions. Mtongana, a critically acclaimed South African chef, said Africa’s culinary delights are “underrated”.

Mtongana, who is also a chef, restaurateur, food expert, entrepreneur and multi-award-winning author, called out highly populated places in Africa that choose not to celebrate the continent’s rich culinary skills.

For example, he cited ugali, a thick and common corn flour made from white corn flour cooked in boiling water or milk. The dish is widely consumed across Africa where it takes on different local names including posho, papa, nsima, pap, sadza, isitshwala, akume, amawe, ewokpe and akple.

“We should work locally to develop our cuisines in Africa. Our cooking is always done at home. We should push our professional chefs to explore African home cooking. We should eventually abandon our homes and turn to international restaurants,” Ourrad said.

“Our cuisine is not yet codified according to international standards. We must create credible restaurants at home, then export gastronomy. We must first create a base here at home,” added the Algerian leader.

Mtongana pointed out that the curriculum of culinary schools in South Africa does not provide for African culinary styles but students only learn European styles.

“We need to educate and sensitize Africans so that they cherish our African ingredients for food. We should change their mindset and not just look to the West,” said Nigeria’s Stone.

“The younger generation has a negative impression of being a boss. We need to teach them that you can succeed as a leader. This is changing, including among parents. You can study to become a chef and move up in the industry,” Stone added.

Rabah said it is important to educate young people not only about the gastronomic delights of Africa, but also the role of a chef.

“I spent 20 years in Europe learning my trade. African governments must encourage African chefs from abroad to return home and invest in the continent’s restaurants. We need to transfer knowledge to young chefs, and that is very important if we want to grow the industry,” Rabah said.

During their live food showcase, Stone cooked a mouth-watering Suya dish featuring yayi spices, salsa, shrimp and beef. For his part, Charlie Koffi from Ivory Coast prepared the Sonon Fondant; fonis lawyer.

“As we celebrate the progress we have made over the year of the CANEX Gastronomy and Culinary Arts Program, I would like to highlight that African cuisine remains underrepresented in the global culinary landscape,” Chinelo Oramah, Director of the Afreximbank Spouses Network (ASNET). ), says.

“Despite the rich diversity of our cuisines, only about 1% of fine dining restaurants worldwide offer African culinary offerings. This is in stark contrast to the fact that the global gastronomy market is expected to reach $250 billion by 2027,” she added.

The ASNET matron also said it was important to be aware of the economics of maintaining a fine dining restaurant, with initial investment estimates, depending on location and concept, ranging from $500 000 (Shs1.8 billion) to over $1 million (Shs3.7 billion). .

“Potential owners often face the challenge of securing financing or finding suitable locations. It is therefore clear, once again, that African integration into the global gastronomy market is limited by lack of access to capital,” said Chinelo.

He added, “To address this issue, last year we explored the concept of franchising as a way to propagate our food culture. A franchise strategy backed by Afreximbank could be transformational, allowing us to establish fine dining restaurants on a global scale.

Chinelo also highlighted the need to capture the 70 percent of consumers who continue to “express a desire to try new and diverse cuisines” by introducing them to African and Caribbean cuisines.

“Furthermore, research indicates that African cuisine can strengthen gastronomic tourism, valued at approximately $500 billion globally in 2019, and expected to grow rapidly in the coming years,” he said. she said, adding: “To implement this strategy, it is crucial to gain the support of our African and Caribbean culinary giants. Collaboration is essential to develop a holistic, feasible and sustainable franchise strategy that will enable us to position African fine dining restaurants worldwide.

The ASNET matron is convinced that “we can significantly increase the representation of African flavors in the global food ecosystem”.

She noted: “There are some success stories that we can learn from, including The Bahamas Brave restaurant in many southern states in the United States and Nandos in South Africa, which has grown to scale. worldwide thanks to franchising. »

She added: “In addition to franchising, we also call on Afreximbank to mobilize its partner banks to create a venture capital fund which will be used to help established chefs open restaurants in major cities around the world. A “A Major Taste of African Food” media campaign may also be launched to collectively support African-themed restaurants.

Chinelo also called on chefs and other stakeholders to help shape an African gourmet restaurant franchise strategy that will take the world by storm. Stakeholders, she added, should create a movement that celebrates Africa’s culinary treasures while fostering economic growth and innovation for our communities.

Afreximbank launched the African Gastronomy and Culinary Arts program under the CANEX program at the Third Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2023), held in November in Cairo, Egypt.

The program will help refocus continental efforts towards local food production to ensure food security, reduce high food and import costs and minimize the impact of external shocks on the country’s food supply chain. ‘Africa.

The program provides an opportunity to promote African cuisine in order to develop local food trade and value chain through the promotion of local foods. It aims to achieve this by showcasing their superior health benefits to local and regional communities and helping local restaurateurs and entrepreneurs improve the dining experience through skills development and capacity building.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Afreximbank President and Chairman, Professor Benedict Oramah, announced that Afreximbank would increase its funding to the CANEX program from $1 billion to $2 billion (7.3 billion shillings) for the next three years.