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| L-R: Victoria Otono, Contenet and Creative Directive, BTV; Ororo Pattaya Otono, Executive Producer BTV; Felix King, Executive Producer, African Jollof Rice Challenge, and ex BB Naija 2017 housemate, Uriel Oputa at the unveiling of African Jollof Rice challenge at Ikeja City Mall yesterday. |
Hospitality
Food conversation in Africa hits a new height as
Brand Television Network, Btv; a lifestyle and entertainment television network
presents the African Jollof Rice Challenge.
African Jollof Rice Challenge is
a continental lifestyle and entertainment taste tour and cooking contest that seeks to discover the
country that has the best Jollof Rice in Africa in a contest where representatives of different African countries will slug
it out and aim at the
$5000 Grand Prize money.
According to Felix King, Executive Producer of Btv, the argument on which country has the best Jollof Rice in Nigeria inspired social
network and street conversations across Africa, especially among the West
African Countries, where Jollof Rice is most popular. This argument has grown into a very strong continental debate, which has dominated both conventional and social
media spaces.
This debate sprang up from a statement by
Lai Muhammed, Nigeria’s Minister of Information that, “Senegalese Jollof Rice
is the best and a counter claim by our Vice President, Yemi Osibajo that, “We
all know that Nigerian Jollof Rice is the best anywhere. We beat the Ghanaians
and Senegalese handsdown.”
Since then, Jollof
Rice lovers have taken to all media platforms to present their perspectives on which country’s jollof rice is the best in Africa. The argument gets fiercer with each passing day with claims and counter claims on
which country actually has the best Jollof Rice in Africa.
King said, “There is no official position yet on which country
has the best Jollof rice in Africa, hence, the
Btv desire to unravel the mystery through this
contest.”
None of the perspectives has proved convincing, despite Nigeria’s strong claims to the
African cuisine. The different view points on the streets have only generated more
controversies and continuous placement of different points to back up individual
claims,” the Btv Executive
Director said.
Ororo Pattaya Otono, Executive Producer with Btv said the challenge
would start with an online recipe contest, where
the best contestants will be selected for the live screening and then the Grand
Finale. He said the programme would come to a flourishing end at the Reward
Night that will be used to mark the World Jollof Rice Day on Tuesday, August 22.
Ororo add, “Jollof
rice was born with controversy about its true origin, the best ingredients for cooking it and where the name itself was discovered.”
In recent times, Nigeria and Ghana has laid
major claims to the origin and ownership of Jollof, but some historians traced
its origin to Senegambia, which was ruled by the Jolof Empire. This argument about
the origin of Jollof Rice has become a culturally sensitive issue between
Nigerians and Ghanaians.
Whatever the arguments are, Jollof rice is one of the
most common dishes in West Africa consumed throughout the region including
Senegal, Gambia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Togo, Cameroon, Mali, and Ghana. There are
several regional variations in the name and ingredients. According to Wikipedia, the
name Jollof rice is derived from the name of the Wolof people now called the ibou dienn or benachin.
In French-speaking areas, it is called riz au gras. Despite the
variations, the dish is "mutually intelligible" across the region and
has spread so wide to become the best-known African dish outside the continent.
Just as we try to get used to the Jollof Rice story as it is, the
new argument erupted, giving room to another controversy that has come to stay
with us because no one country in Africa will ever agree that its Jollof Rice
is second to any.
In the face of this unending argument, Brand Television Network,
Btv launched the lasting solution – African Jollof Rice Challenge.
To the organizers, African Jollof Rice Challenge is more of an
entertainment platform than a contest. It’s the positive and healthy
exploration of the beauty of African entertainment that makes us one big
continent. King describes the Grand
Finale as a celebration of different African music, where African rhythm meets African
Jollof Rice.
In the words of Ororo, Jollof Rice is a strong unifying factor
in Africa that brings us together to share great moments. Despite our
differences, we have one major similarity -Jollof Rice. Hence the theme: One
Africa, One Jollof Rice, And Different Recipes.
Beyond entertainment and food values, the African Jollof Rice
Challenge will serve as a veritable platform to promote tourism, cultural
exchange among African countries and overall economic growth.
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