Spice and all things rice: Lagos pays homage to jollof with inaugural festival

LAGOS, Nigeria — Jollof rice isn’t just a tasty West African dish — it’s a national obsession in Nigeria.

Dozens of top chefs gathered at the weekend for Lagos’ inaugural jollof festival, showcasing their personal twists on the tangy tomatoey rice to a crowd of hundreds of hungry hipsters.

Imoteda Aladekomo, a 31-year-old chef who has been making jollof for four years, has led the way in reinventing the national staple, creating several pioneering variants through her company Eko Street Eats.

“It’s so popular because it’s easy to customize,” she said while preparing take-away boxes at the jollof fair, staged at a former railway yard complete with disused train tracks, blaring Nigerian music and a giant version of Scrabble.

“Rice is really easy to get here whereas other ingredients aren’t. Every party has to have jollof rice and every Sunday people will have it, having looked forward to it all week.”

She added: “Jollof rice will always reign supreme — even compared to McDonald’s or whatever, your jollof rice captures people’s childhoods.”

Her flagship version, deepfried in breadcrumbs and served with plantain sauce and a fiery red pepper coulis, drew a steady stream of jollof afficionados.

Ozoz Sokoh, a Lagos food blogger who set up the festival this year, said the universal affection for the dish helps to unite the Nigerian diaspora and people with West African roots around the world.

“It brings many countries together — it’s not just West Africa, but countries where the slaves went, like the American south and parts of Mexico,” she said.

While food delivery services offering international favorites like sushi and pizza are expanding rapidly in Nigeria’s big cities, jollof has retained a special place in the hearts of the country’s huge youth population.

“Most of us young people forget about our traditional food,” said Jane Ibitola, a 32-year-old financial adviser from the southern oil city of Port Harcourt.

“But whenever you move away from it, you cherish it again.”