It has been an age & I am glad to be back! Back to where it all began; with blogging! 💃
Photo credits: MSK catering services on Instagram
So for a while, the #fufuchallenge has been trending on social media. I have been watching people's responses to the entire saga. Some were outraged as to why their beloved dinner was the subject of anyone's so called challenge. Some newcomers, took the opportunity to show just how 'un-cool' fufu was! Perhaps, it was such 'kill joy' videos, that set off the fury of the fufu eaters worldwide.
In all of this, good or bad, we have had many more enquirers or seekers, and for the best of purposes, fufu was surfacing in many people's timelines.
There were many more folks frequenting African Food Vendors to partake in the experience. 'Ker-ching!,' for my brother and sister vendors 🙌.
What was unique is that the Fufu story, though not entirely accurate, was being told on our own terms. Made in the conventional mould and eaten 'by hand', with a variety of soups. The fufu story did not fit the conventional style of dining and yet was trending.
I agree that fusion dining could be an inroad to the awareness of the value of Afro Caribbean meals. However, presenting ourselves as confident contributors, who each have unique food stories, could earn us our place of 'respect' and not as a second, third or fourth fiddle.
The question now is, how can we continue this food storytelling, without being aggressive or standoffish and yet attract or draw in those on the outside? How do we promote our personal worth foodwise? We do want to build our indigenous food economies after all.
For this reason, I would not knock the #fufuchallenge but embrace it.
In the Food Hut, it will remain our objective to promote all angles of our #goodfood narrative with a healthy dose of authenticity & quality.
Keep an eye on all our platforms.
More #foodchallenges are welcome.
😂