“African cuisine is incredibly underrepresented in this city,” I say.
Timothy Adebule, a Nigerian native and a 30-year Orlando business owner, wholeheartedly agrees.
His Three Masks (threemasks.com; a gift shop located at 1023 W. Colonial Drive) is a gallery, an event venue and home base for an operation that leads tour groups to both Nigeria and Ghana. It’s also been the home of his “World Renowned Jollof Rice Competition” for three years.
Jollof rice is a popular, one-pot dish made by simmering rice in a rich, spiced tomato-and-pepper stew base.
This year, Adebule is bringing the rice battle front and center as part of the first-ever Afro Food Fest at Orlando’s Festival Park from noon to 7 p.m. on Sept. 5.
“I just thought it would be a beautiful thing to bring together Afro nationals, Afro-Latinos, Afro-Caribbeans, African-Americans and all those interested by way of food, culture and fashion,” says Adebule.
“Jollof Rice has been around for a long time. It’s affiliated with Senegal, a part of the early nation called ‘Wolof.’ This is where the dish itself originates, but I think Ghana and Nigeria took it up a notch, and other nationals took it up, as well.”
African clothing, accessories and more will be available for sale. At press time, the festival was still accepting vendor applications for both food and merchandise. (Courtesy Afro Food Fest)
At Three Masks, African expats have been throwing down for the title. Now, there will be a far bigger stage. Five contestants, representing Nigeria (SuyaBite, a West African street food place), Ghana, Togo and Liberia — along with well-known Sanford restaurant owner Shantell Williams doing a combined rep of America and Sierra Leone — will cook on site, presenting their dishes to judges in a blind tasting to win both bragging rights and a $1,000 prize.
Guests, however, will get the real prize: free samples from each competitor.
“We want to make sure they can taste, as so many people in this part of the world had never tried jollof rice before.”
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Beyond the bites, of course, these and other vendors will be selling dishes that capture flavors from across the continent. Merchandise, too, will reflect many nations, many styles. But it doesn’t begin and end entirely with Africa.
“We’ll also have live performances all day,” Adebule says, “including a Mexican dance group, a Puerto Rican all-women drum troupe, Latin jazz band, African cultural performances and more, plus the rice Competition. So much packed into one day.”
Abudele’s hope is that more people, African and otherwise, will enjoy deeper exposure to the rich rainbow of its culture.
To the lack of representation of its cuisine, he has theories.
“I think it has a lot to do with our culture,” he says. “So many people cook at home and don’t go to places to eat a lot, and I think that the would-be restaurants doubt whether it would be worth it to start one.”
In addition to the Jollof Rice Competition (samples will be available for guests to taste), a multitude of food vendors will serve dishes repping several African nations. Diverse cultural performances, African and others, will run throughout the day, as well. (Courtesy Afro Food Fest)
This, he says, despite a significant number of Africans living in the metro.
“I want to get them to come out,” he says. “It’s the only way people can track the potential of starting a business, going out to festivals like this and serving their food and seeing how many people enjoy it.”
Tickets for the Afro Food Fest are $15 for ages 11+. Kids 10 and younger are free. Food and beverages sold separately. Find them, along with vendor information, at threemasks.com/aff.
Find me on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com, For more foodie fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.