Interest in traditional food

INCREASING public interest in traditional food has spawned a number of restaurants and competition is stiff to provide something special. An impressive Facebook page with good images, lots of comments and interactive feedback piqued my interest in recently opened Kwa Chimedza. On Beit Road behind Alex Sports club, the restaurant has been open a couple of weeks. A lush garden with thick green grass has picnic tables scattered under the old shade trees. Indoor dining is in a spacious newly painted and polished red verandah with vibrant large-scale artworks, bright coloured plastic chairs and warm orange walls. Looks good.

The Restaurant sources beef, chicken and vegetables from a family farm near Beatrice and the supervisor told me that they were motivated to open the eatery by health concerns and prevalence of diseases like obesity and diabetes. Perhaps people are becoming more health conscious and realising that grandmother’s rural recipes are healthier than a diet rich in fats, sugars and refined starch but I certainly see many in the city who can hardly fit behind the steering wheels of their large cars.

Staff were welcoming and attentive and food was well cooked and nicely presented. We were offered spoons but opted for hand washing. I did feel that prices needed adjusting. Oxtail with beans US$12 and roadrunner US$8 seems fair but by the time you add the extras — zviyo and mhunga sadza US$4 each, mufushwa with peanut butter also US$4, it adds up to rather a lot. With the addition of a couple of drinks (mineral water US$1) and a tiny pack of peanuts which I thought were given as complimentary taste while we were waiting, the total came to US$36 which was pricy. All you can eat braai on Saturday promises to be a good deal though and if you order in advance US$40 gets you a whole cowhead — special for four people!

I finished the week with the second edition of the Traditional and Organic Food Festival in the Botanical Gardens. Last year stalls were much more crowded back to back. Demonstrations were on the restaurant verandah and there was a smaller entertainment stage. This year’s festival occupied two days and exhibitors spread out from the pavilion next to the restaurant through the expansive meadow space next to the now dried up pond. Perhaps too spread out as food court felt too separate from the stalls and the energy was dissipated. The fierce sun had many stallholders taking shelter under their tents and with the lovely trees still without their full summer leaves, midday was scorching. Demonstrators and entertainers did a fine job on a stage with no shade and the juice lady sold out her fresh cold juices!

Many stalls were selling prepared food – Ugandan, Ethiopian, Indian — and several were offering traditional Zimbabwean meals. Svinurai Arts from Mutoko, who have appeared in this column before, got my vote for most interesting food. As well as various starches — zviyo, mhunga, rice nedovi, they were serving buck stew and a huge array of vegetable dishes. Golden nhopi, mabumbe — dense cakes made from pumpkin seed — mufushwa ne dovi, mushrooms cooked two ways, and other greens made for a good variety.

Their snacks attracted a lot of interest. I really liked chambwa — a sticky cake made from zviyo and concentrated muhacha syrup. A real energy food this cake will apparently keep for a year! Fresh wild fruits adorned their table — masau, muhacha, mutohwe the African chewing gum and usika the sharp local tamarind. Baobab yoghurt was a good idea and very refreshing. Look forward to next year and more innovation.

g.jeke@yahoo.