๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐๐ง ๐๐ ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ || ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ฌ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ - ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ก๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ค ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ข๐
In this episode of The Battle for African Agriculture Podcast, Dr. Million Belay speaks with Wafik Belaid @WafikBelaid, Tunisian executive chef, trainer, and writer who reflects on how years of European gastronomic influence once pulled him away from his roots until, as he puts it, he stopped and remembered that he is from Tunisia and from Africa. Drawing on childhood memories shaped by family kitchens, military life, and community gatherings, he recalls the tastes and smells that formed him early on: Mediterranean herbs, garlic, seafood, meat, olive oil, and harissa from the north, alongside deeper African influences that emerge as one moves south.
He explains that Tunisian cuisine holds two identities at once, Mediterranean and African, and that this duality reveals Africaโs complexity rather than separating it. From dried herbs and spices in the south to shared stew making traditions stretching from Tunisia through Algeria and Morocco toward Mali, he describes a common African culinary language rooted in grains, legumes, garlic, onions, and slow cooked meals. While acknowledging historical influences from Ottoman, Roman, Jewish, Byzantine, and Berber cultures, he argues that the real danger today is not colonial influence alone but the loss of traditional knowledge, taste markers, and family food practices when children no longer grow up eating and sharing local meals.
For him, food is a battleground and chefs are no longer just cooks. They are educators, storytellers, and cultural ambassadors responsible for preserving original food before altering presentation, teaching through local products rather than foreign recipes, and naming the sources of African food when it travels globally. He frames food sovereignty as beginning with agriculture and support for farmers, warning that dependence on imports signals failure. His message to young chefs is direct: start from the soil, understand food from earth to plate, and stay rooted in culture, because once tradition is lost, it is difficult to recover.
Listen to the full conversation on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and across all our social media platforms.
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YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaiLYh0xvgg
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7tgq9XiaxBBk3HUkPPXlAG?si=fkSHl57DQL2DUGl5mEFvkw
Apple Podcast
https://rss.com/podcasts/battle-for-african-agriculture-podcast/2425523/
Had a chuckle while cooking lunch today that I would like to share with y'all.
For context, I'm following a HelloFresh recipe for peanut stew. Watch the hands, and ask yourself: "Is the rice White enough?"
I assume that #HelloFresh uses a stock image for "cook the rice" but I'm also amused that this was the result.
#cooking #accidentalracism #blacklivesmatter #representation #Africancuisine #PeanutStew
In the quest for optimal health, many people turn to well-known superfoods like kale, acai, and chia seeds. However, African superfoods offer a treasure trove of nutrients that are often overlooked. Certified nutrition specialist and behavior coach, Kwamae Allen M.S., CNS, LDN, shares her insights on five African superfoods that pack a powerful nutritional punch [โฆ]
After the cold spell this week, we're really looking forward to some East African comfort food this weekend from #JikoniEastAfrica, the menu looks delicious!
They'll be serving up a treat from 5pm on Friday and 4pm on Saturday until 9pm. Go on, you know you want to.
#BS4 #Bristol #Totterdown #africanfood #comfortfood #warmspices #treatyourtastebuds #africancuisine #streetfoodbristol
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