This is a tough one. As I am now living in Los Angeles since 1997, I have been eating West African and Ethiopian food for years. These cuisines are everywhere here. And they are delicious, and ancient, and complex. But they are also the food of the poor and cheap as hell. No matter how good the chef is at Ikoyi in London, or how "locally foraged" the leaves and twigs are that you use - the food you serve is still just simple Rice and Beans and a starving Chicken. What I see in this video are great authentic Nigerian dishes like Jolof Rice and Pounded Yam that are traditionally served as hearty portions in a plastic bowl at a curbside food stand on a noisy street, but now served here at Ikoyi as a dollop on a plate and then covered in caviar or truffle shavings just to make it seem high end. But it's still just beans and rice. It's still just yam starch paste shaped in a ball. If you walked up to a food stand on a busy street in Lagos and threw a handful of truffle-shavings on top of some local working-mans lunch-bowl of Jolof Rice & bean-paste-Moin-Moin, and then tried to charge him extra for it, he would either laugh or he'd kick the crap out of you. This stuff is street-food, it's family food, it's sacred traditional survival food that is delicious as it is - and no amount of Sevruga Caviar or Gold-Flake sprinkles is going to improve on that. It's just sad that those wealthy Brits need the permission of a Michelin Star before allowing themselves to try this cuisine. I've been to Africa many times, and believe me, the traffic sounds and the plastic bowl doesn't take an iota of the original flavor away.
I disagree it’s like saying pasta is just semolina flour and cheese is just fermented milk. Even Italians have “street food” that is cheap, it doesnt compare to fine dining. Some street vendors even have michelin stars! There is skill and quality of ingredients in African and Asian cuisines. Please respect the skill, process and complex flavours that go into the creation of our dishes - from Mozambique to Vietnam from Nigeria to Sri Lanka. From Ethiopia to Thailand.
This is a tough one. As I am now living in Los Angeles since 1997, I have been eating West African and Ethiopian food for years. These cuisines are everywhere here. And they are delicious, and ancient, and complex. But they are also the food of the poor and cheap as hell. No matter how good the chef is at Ikoyi in London, or how "locally foraged" the leaves and twigs are that you use - the food you serve is still just simple Rice and Beans and a starving Chicken. What I see in this video are great authentic Nigerian dishes like Jolof Rice and Pounded Yam that are traditionally served as hearty portions in a plastic bowl at a curbside food stand on a noisy street, but now served here at Ikoyi as a dollop on a plate and then covered in caviar or truffle shavings just to make it seem high end. But it's still just beans and rice. It's still just yam starch paste shaped in a ball. If you walked up to a food stand on a busy street in Lagos and threw a handful of truffle-shavings on top of some local working-mans lunch-bowl of Jolof Rice & bean-paste-Moin-Moin, and then tried to charge him extra for it, he would either laugh or he'd kick the crap out of you. This stuff is street-food, it's family food, it's sacred traditional survival food that is delicious as it is - and no amount of Sevruga Caviar or Gold-Flake sprinkles is going to improve on that. It's just sad that those wealthy Brits need the permission of a Michelin Star before allowing themselves to try this cuisine. I've been to Africa many times, and believe me, the traffic sounds and the plastic bowl doesn't take an iota of the original flavor away.
I disagree it’s like saying pasta is just semolina flour and cheese is just fermented milk. Even Italians have “street food” that is cheap, it doesnt compare to fine dining. Some street vendors even have michelin stars!
There is skill and quality of ingredients in African and Asian cuisines. Please respect the skill, process and complex flavours that go into the creation of our dishes - from Mozambique to Vietnam from Nigeria to Sri Lanka. From Ethiopia to Thailand.
happy birthday !!!! We do enjoy your content Cheers From Panama City, Panama
Thank you for your kind words!! Glad you like the contents and hope all is well in Panama!
You are so charming! Subscribed!
Oh thank you!
Love your channel👍
Certainly a great address….but why so noisy ??