THE CHEF WHO IS PIONEERING A VEGAN MOVEMENT IN AFRICA

LUTHO PASIYA

It was Nompumelelo Mqwebu who reminded us in her book, Through the Eyes of an African Chef, that African cuisine has always been plant-based.

She met a person who heard about the book and without having read it, commented: ’Oh it’s an African cookbook, it must be full of meat, I am a vegetarian.’ Mqwebu says she had the pleasure to educate her on our food history and our relationship with meat and how African cuisine is mostly plant-based. And now more chefs are realising that and are going back to the roots of African cuisine, like Chef Nicola Kagoro.

The founder of African Vegan on a Budget Nicola Kagoro, aka Chef Cola has been challenging the common misconception surrounding plantbased diets in Africa.

A hospitality management graduate whose path took her not only to veganism but also to be on the culinary front-lines of presenting vegan food and lifestyle in Africa and advocating its great benefits-both nutritional and environmental.

One of Kagoro’s primary aims is to spread awareness of vegan culture across Africa and give people the tools and knowledge to actively integrate plant-based eating into their lifestyles.

Her love for cooking started when she was 16 years old, and that is when she knew she wanted to be a chef.

“I had a passion for cooking for my family daily and experimenting with different ingredients. This led me to start looking into joining the hospitality industry in high school and finally studying hospitality management for three years.”

Her journey in plant-based food was completely accidental. It was when she was working at PLANT in Cape Town, that her interest was piqued.

“When I started working at the PLANT I had no clue what veganism was. As I started training as a vegan chef my interest in it grew further and I started understanding what the vegan lifestyle was about.”

She then started incorporating the vegan lifestyle into many aspects of her life, especially her food.

Asked why spreading veganism is important to her and how is it changing people’s lifestyles, she said working alongside rural communities in Zimbabwe showed her that unfortunately, people do not have access to meat and fresh products as compared to city centre individuals.

And this is due to the main reason that they do not have access to basic necessities like electricity. This echoes what Mqwebu said about the meat eating in Africa and why plant-based cuisine has been a part of the lives of many Africans, since the very beginning.

“If they keep livestock they do not slaughter them for daily consumption and meat drying practices are not so common in the rural areas I work,” Kagoro says. And so to make the plant-based life more accessible, she has made sure highlight that vegan food can be affordable, nutritional and most importantly, delicious.

“I spread the gospel of veganism because I present affordable - nutritional and tasty meals that everyone from all walks of life can practice to ensure they maintain a healthy lifestyle. It is important to me also because most diseases that people face are due to poor diets or can be managed well with a change to one's diet. This is a positive change to people's lifestyle.” While she admits that the uptake may take longer and people love their meat, she is hopeful that with science and dietitians helping to show how beneficial a plant-based lifestyle is, that more people, including other chefs, will take on the challenge.

“The vegan science in Africa is booming and is growing more and more. We still have a long way to go compared to other global markets and the way vegan brands are presented in the market but we are in a good space.

“More brands are coming out and introducing themselves in mainstream supermarkets and other channels of distribution.

“The scene can be better by adding more diversity to brand developers and market researchers who make the decisions. For example, chefs should be including in marketing vegan brands more. The faces behind the vegan brands who are presenting these products seem to have masks. More diversity is needed.

Where she comes in, is to bring more Black faces to the plant-based movement in the continent and make the lifestyle more accessible to people who may think they won’t be able to afford being vegan.

“I am changing veganism in Africa by making it more available to people of different cultures. My mission is to bridge the gap between rural and city individuals and show that vegan food can be affordable, tasty, and nutritional anywhere you eat it,” she said.

Another game-changer when it comes to the plant-based lifestyle is Kamini Pather.

The Masterchef SA winner, has taken an interest in the technology surrounding the food development.

Pather recently launched a new predominantly plant-based food delivery service called Fudy, a first of its kind in South Africa. She said Fudy is the solution to people who are committed to eating healthy but don’t have the time to cook.

“Each signature dish utilises carbs, fats, and protein (sources from plants and animals) to provide a wellbalanced meal.

“The meals are interesting to the taste buds with elements such as black bean and quinoa bombs spiced with cumin and coriander seeds or the plant-based vegan made with cashew nut cream; coconut milk satay with fresh lemongrass, bay leaves, and soy.

“The difference is clear. This food is made with simple ingredients but made the conscious way,” said Pather.

Kamini Pather.