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Fighting with Food — West African rice rivalries in the Golden City

Fighting with Food — West African rice rivalries in the Golden City
Deborah Safoa Darkey, right, of Pretoria restaurant L&J, and, left, goat and turkey meat waiting to go into the winning recipe. (Photos: Jemienachi Ugwujide)
Anna Trapido
By Anna Trapido
13 Dec 2024
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Johannesburg’s recent jollof war was a delicious celebration of West African culinary culture.

Anything with the word “war” in its title sounds scary but fear not, jollof wars are actually fabulously friendly. These ebullient epicurean events host West African cooks who compete to create the best version of jollof rice. 

Patriotic rice rivalries abound because every country in the region has a distinct recipe for the fragrant, spicy tomato-infused one pot culinary classic. The foodie fervour is always intense but never nasty — imagine a benign rap battle waged by aunties wielding wooden spoons. 

Jollof is a corruption of Wolof, which refers to the medieval rice growing and trading empire that had its origins in the Senegambian region of West Africa.

Note that the aim of these taste tournaments is always to create the best version of jollof rice rather than to establish provenance. Everyone acknowledges that Senegal made this gastronomic gem first — it is literally written into the name of the recipe. Jollof is a corruption of the word the Wolof, which refers to the medieval rice growing and trading empire that had its origins in the Senegambian region of West Africa.

The Wolof signature dish (thieboudienne/ tchep djeune/ benachin — literally fish with rice) spread with travelling merchants and found favour far and wide. Those adopting the recipe initially described it in terms of the people who brought it to them but, as time and territory grew, differences in pronunciation and ingredients emerged. What was once the rice of the Wolof evolved into jollof rice. 

In recent years, as the West African Diaspora has spread worldwide, jollof war culinary competitions have gone global. They now take place everywhere from Brooklyn to Beijing, Jakarta to Johannesburg.

I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I was asked to be a judge (along with Kennedy Khabo Mabe, Opeoluwa Omor Oyebola and Mavis Anim Mensah-Pah) at the most recent Johannesburg Jollof War 2024. 

The judges for the 2024 jollof wars in Johannesburg From left, judges Kennedy Khabo Mabe, Opeoluwa Omor Oyebola, Mavis Anm Mensah-Pah and Anna Trapido. (Photo: Supplied)



The competition was held in mid-November at the Breadbox Bakery and Studio in Midrand. The regional economic superpowers, Ghana and Nigeria, are always the most invested in winning this war, so it was no surprise to find that all four teams came from these countries. The Senegalese sensibly stayed out of the squabble. Maybe they were still basking in the glory of the  United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s 2021 inclusion of their original version in the Intangible Heritage of Humanity list. 

Chef Florence Ansah of Florence Catering, left, placed second in the Jollof War and Ansah’s nkate cake. (Photos: Jemienachi Ugwujide)



The atmosphere was warm and welcoming. One of the contestants, Ghanaian chef Florence Ansah (the winner of the 2021 Johannesburg Jollof War) from Divine Touch Catering, Pretoria (072 392 0447) supplied snacks such as nkate cake (like peanut brittle but nicer), bofrot fritters (like magwinya but smaller and lighter) and sobolo hibiscus juice. Organiser Adetunji Omotola offered up a selection of South African wines while the eager (and increasingly hungry) audience watched the two-hour cooking competition. 

Nigerian chef Morayo Olonade from Morayo Feast in Sunninghill (@morayofeast) created a rich, reduced sauce of tomato, red peppers, onion, scotch bonnet chilli, garlic and ginger. Dried thyme and bay leaves added aromatic elements while Maggi stock cubes brought in additional umami. Jody Watley and Bolaji Olasukanmi of Jollof Café pushed the smoky flavours with hearty helpings of smoked paprika, which also gave their entry a luscious orange-red hue.

Jody Watley and Bolaji Olasukanmi of the Jollof Cafe team (3rd place) and, right, their Nigerian style jollof rice. (Photo: Jemienachi Ugwujide)



One of the charges that Ghanaian cooks tend to toss at Nigerians is that they are overly reliant on Maggi cubes. In the past iru (fermented locust beans) was used to add flavour, but these days MSG-laden bouillon blocks reign supreme. It is worth mentioning that Maggi cubes made for the West African market are much nicer than the stock cubes we get in South Africa. The Maggi Naija Pot range is specifically designed to heighten the Nigerian fondness for smoky, malted, fermented and dried fish umami flavours. 

Most Ghanaian cooks stick steadfastly to traditional techniques and original ingredients. Their scorn for newfangled flavour has even made its way into pop music care of Accra influencer Sister Deborah. The video for Sister D’s ditty shows Nigerian men falling for her charms as she intones: “I have d’ secret recipe, no Maggi cube, when your Naija boy chases me don’t blame juju.”

True to type, both Ghanaian teams created intensely flavoured broth by bringing in Tupperware filled with smoked fish, dried crayfish powder and corned beef. While watching them cook, I found the idea of the latter disconcerting, but upon tasting the end result, I understood that it had melted into the sauce (which also included cloves and calabash nutmeg) leaving no trace beyond a magnificent meatiness. Simmering rice then absorbed these bold tastes and aromas. 

Deborah Safoa Darkey, right, of Pretoria restaurant L&J, and, left, goat and turkey meat waiting to go into the winning recipe. (Photos: Jemienachi Ugwujide)



Perhaps the secret was in the sauce for Chefs Deborah Safoa Darkey and Belinda Mapfumo from L&J restaurant in Sunnyside Pretoria (@l_and_j_restaurant). Their winning entry was wonderfully spicy but also beautifully balanced and dotted with pieces of tender, gamey goat meat. L&J served their jollof with a side of Ghana’s ubiquitous hot pepper, dried shrimp shito sauce. 

We all need to get over shito’s unfortunate name (which means black pepper in the Ga language) because it is, in my humble opinion, the finest condiment ever created. Such is my fondness for its fiery flavours that, at this point, my blood stream must be at least 85% shito. I eat it on everything. Including Welsh rarebit. 

Second place went to Ghanaian Chef Florence Ansah, with the Nigerians taking third and forth place. Even when the Ghanaians danced around the kitchen carrying their flag, the atmosphere remained extremely amicable. There is no such thing as a bad jollof, so once the judging was over, the audience tucked into all the offerings with great gusto. 

Want to start your own jollof journey? 

  • Next year’s Johannesburg Jollof War is set to take place in Sandton on Africa Day, 25 May. The competition is open to contestants from outside of West Africa. 

  • Need a recipe to begin jollof war basic training? I adore New York Times food writer Yewande Komolafe’s simple and delicious Nigerian recipe in her multi-award-winning opus My Everyday Lagos. 

  • Senegalese Chef Piere Thiam has a glorious Thiebou Djenne in Simply West African; a cookbook. 

  • Zoe Adjonyoh’s brilliant Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen not only has a wonderful jollof but a great, super-simple shito recipe too. 


Beginners might like to know that the easiest jollof recipe is Komolafe’s. It is the one we make most often in my house. So, what are you waiting for? Wherever you and yours originate, pick up a pot and start practising. DM

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