Uncooked Women

When Nestle and Unilever introduced Maggi and Knorr bouillon cubes to West Africa almost 70 years ago, they took over an informal umami market run mostly by women. Before bouillon, we used fermented beans and seeds like iru and ogili, to deepen the flavours of our soups and stews. Today, both Maggi and Knorr market their seasoning cubes to Nigerian women as a means to the end of modern womanhood - a mythical destination where women can do it all in spite of the patriarchy on their necks. However, a closer look at the colonial histories that built these companies tells a different story - a story of marketing language co-opted and cherry-picked from feminist movements to advance corporate gain.

In Nigeria, street food means tasty portable snacks like Àkàrà and Suya, but it also means bowls of pepper soup and loaded plates of rice and stew served from the many bukas that crowd street corners. Street food culture is run by the city with the most streets - Lagos, the port city that used to be a center for international trade. These Lagos streets keep most of Nigeria's working population fed, but food in the country is getting more expensive than it has ever been due to rising food inflation. We sat down with Ayoola Oladipupo - a food writer that explores the cultural economics of Nigerian food - to talk about Lagos Island joints, the best spot to get amala in Ibadan, and also to understand why exactly Nigeria’s food is getting more expensive. 

Follow us on social media @uncookedwomen to keep up with our food adventures 

The West African jollof wars are friendly internet banter about an umami-rich rice dish beloved across the region. When we’re not fighting about who makes it best, we’re reluctantly agreeing that the region owes the recipe to Senegal, the real winners of the Jollof war. 

Food historian, writer, photographer, and all-round jollof connoisseur, Ozoz Sokoh, joins us to talk about the significance of West Africa’s favourite dish beyond the plate and across the region.

When a grain shortage in Senegal led Penda Mbaye, a chef in a colonial kitchen, to substitute barley for rice in her one-pot dish of tomatoes, vegetables, and fish, she would go on to make West African food history. Her dish was a reaction to a grain shortage caused by the French who were using the farms to grow and export peanuts - a cash crop that has made France a wealthy western power.  On this episode, we’re talking about the real Jollof war, the one between Senegal and France. 

Follow us on social media @Uncookedwomen to keep up with our food adventures.

Learn more about rice in Senegal here:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/11/t-magazine/senegal-homegrown-rice.html

On this episode, the uncooked women dig into one of their favourite things - restaurants that provide food they didn’t have to cook! We head to the Syrian Club, a restaurant and social club that’s been in Lagos since the 80’s, to speak with Tamer about migration into Lagos and all the food that has come with it.

The restaurant industry has become a natural hub for the migrant population and these communities have not only changed the way Nigerians eat forever, they’ve also ushered in Afrofusion cuisine - a bold, African forward blend of the many influences on our homegrown staples. To tell us more about fusion and the future of West African food is Nkesi Enyioha, the executive chef of award winning restaurant - HSE Gourmet and her newly opened Afrofusion spot - OHURU