DISH

BRINGING WEST AFRICAN CUISINE TO KC

ONE FLAVORFUL DISH AT A TIME

WRITTEN BY JUDY GOPPERT PHOTOS BY SARA CLANCE

Your first taste of one of owner Fannie Gibson’s dishes will transport your senses to her home region of Western Africa. She measures, seasons, mixes, blends, slices, braises, stirs, and cooks each recipe from scratch, making sure to emulate authentic, traditional flavors she grew up eating and learned to prepare at an early age beside her beloved grandmother.

Gibson only uses fresh, healthy, organic, and natural ingredients in her creations. She designed her menu to reflect ethnic, cultural, traditional themes. She flavors and spices each dish according to her customer preferences, from mild to spicy to gluten free. “Our goal is to have people from all walks of life within the Kansas City and surrounding areas enjoy amazing, native African cooking under one roof,” she smiles.

When and why did you open Fannie’s West African Cuisine?

I am from West Africa, Liberia, and moved to the United States in 2002 mostly due to the civil war in my country. We were refugees living in Ghana, West Africa, before settling in Kansas City. When we moved here, I began cooking my traditional dishes for my family and sharing them on social media, and people loved it. I decided I wanted to bring our culture, food, and music to KC as I felt it was missing and that people needed to experience it. I worked at different restaurants and any job I could to save enough money to open my restaurant. It took me 2-1/2 years

to save enough and find a good location. I opened on April 13, 2018.

Who inspired you to be such an amazing cook?

My grandmother! She was always cooking and used to chop wood to build the fire. Everybody helped out and it was always hands-on. She was an amazing woman and lived through the civil war where she lost everything. She could make something out of nothing, and I saw how strong and hard working she was, and how she never gave up. She taught me to keep on working, no matter how hard it gets.

What are some of your most popular dishes?

I am so grateful that my customers love everything! They especially like the jollof rice dish, which is cooked in tomato base sauce. This is from my country of Liberia. I add different meats, including chicken, beef, or shrimp. Every jollof is different across West Africa. The rice dish made with the costello leaf is also from my country, and we pound it to make a soup from it. Fufu soup is from Nigeria, and very popular here. Fufu is a plantain or yam. We make three different kinds, including plain, yam, and costello. We use a lot of fresh vegetables. I get some from here, and what I can’t find locally I get from a West African supply store in Chicago.

How do foods you cook bring the West frican culture to life?

The foods I cook are the real deal. The flavors and ingredients come directly from the West African culture. People who have traveled to Africa and experienced it say it reminds them of something their mom or grandma would make! Our menu is large, and we also cater. Or you can order online and we will deliver to you.

Below: Fannie Gibson brought her heritage and delicious food with her when she immigrated to Kansas City from West Africa.

Fannie’s African & Tropical Cuisine

4105 Troost Ave., Kansas City, MO

816.832.8454 • fanniescuisine.com