The West African jollof wars are friendly internet banter about an umami-rich rice dish beloved across the region. When we’re not fighting about who makes it best, we’re reluctantly agreeing that the region owes the recipe to Senegal, the real winners of the Jollof war. 

Food historian, writer, photographer, and all-round jollof connoisseur, Ozoz Sokoh, joins us to talk about the significance of West Africa’s favourite dish beyond the plate and across the region.

When a grain shortage in Senegal led Penda Mbaye, a chef in a colonial kitchen, to substitute barley for rice in her one-pot dish of tomatoes, vegetables, and fish, she would go on to make West African food history. Her dish was a reaction to a grain shortage caused by the French who were using the farms to grow and export peanuts - a cash crop that has made France a wealthy western power.  On this episode, we’re talking about the real Jollof war, the one between Senegal and France. 

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Learn more about rice in Senegal here:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/11/t-magazine/senegal-homegrown-rice.html