Africa: food and travel guides

by Great British Chefs9 September 2019

Africa: food and travel guides

by Great British Chefs9 September 2019

Planning a trip to Africa or simply want to know more about its many cuisines and dishes? Take a look at our food-focused travel guides and recipes for everything you need to know.

Take a look at all our travel guides:

Africa: food and travel guides

by Great British Chefs9 September 2019

Planning a trip to Africa or simply want to know more about its many cuisines and dishes? Take a look at our food-focused travel guides and recipes for everything you need to know.

Take a look at all our travel guides:

It's only very recently that the UK has started to embrace African food. Just a few years ago our knowledge of the vast continent's cuisine centred almost entirely on the tagines and couscous of North Africa, and a vague knowledge that jollof rice was one of the most popular dishes in West Africa. Thankfully, that's now beginning to change.

African cooking is rich in spice, elevating simple ingredients into knockout dishes thanks to ingredients unique to the continent such as uda pods and grains of paradise (which both feature prominently in West African cooking). Ethiopian food has risen to the fore thanks to its delicious injera breads, topped with a variety of sauces and stews, while the vast influence North African cooking has had on southern European is becoming more and more understood. If you're travelling to Africa and wondering what dishes are in store or just want to taste its most famous dishes at home, take a look at our guides below.

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East Africa
West Africa
North Africa

East Africa

Everything you need to know about East African cuisine

Everything you need to know about East African cui...

by Great British Chefs

Influenced by the Arabian and Indian cuisines across the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, East African cooking boasts a multitude of spices and dishes not too dissimilar to curry. Get to know more about the dishes and foods of the nine countries of East Africa and uncover a whole new world of flavour.

Misir wot (Ethiopian lentil stew)

by GBC Kitchen

Awaze chicken thighs

by GBC Kitchen

Mchuzi wa samaki (Tanzanian coconut fish curry)

by GBC Kitchen

Ethiopian ful medames

by GBC Kitchen

Berbere spice

by GBC Kitchen

Zigni berbere (spicy Eritrean beef stew)

by GBC Kitchen

Lentil sambusas

by GBC Kitchen

West Africa

An introduction to West African cooking

by Great British Chefs

The food of West Africa is becoming more and more popular in the UK, with iconic dishes such as jollof rice joined by other classics such as suya, kelewele and akara. Get to know more about the ingredients that flavour these beloved meals and take a look at our recipes if you fancy cooking them at home.

Fish yassa with butter rice, olives and roasted sweet peppers

Fish yassa with butter rice, olives and roasted sw...

by Lerato Umah-Shaylor

Suya

by Helen Graves

Pumpkin with groundnut sauce

by Jeremy Chan

Jamestown grilled prawns

by Zoe Adjonyoh

Akara – black bean fritters

by Zoe Adjonyoh

Jollof rice with kelewele

by Lerato Umah-Shaylor

Coconut rice with grilled chicken suya

by Lerato Umah-Shaylor

North Africa

Fez: Morocco’s culinary capital

by Great British Chefs

North Africa is a melting pot of flavour, combining Middle Eastern, European and African cooking techniques and ingredients to create something greater than the sum of its parts. Discover more about what makes Fez a must-visit city for intrepid foodies, see just how influential the region's cuisine has been beyond its borders and check out our delicious recipes.