From the US to Ghana, a Taste of Home in the Homeland

 

Many African Americans are visiting Ghana because of its historic¹ links to the slave trade across the Atlantic Ocean hundreds of years ago.

A professional cook who goes by the name Chef Sage² – which is not her real name – waits for the U.S. visitors in Ghana’s capital.

At her cafe in Accra, she cooks food influenced by her time in the United States, the Caribbean islands and Ghana. The smell of spices float in the air while her loyal³ customers sit at tables outside.

“I had that Southern influence, my grandmother with cornbread …the whole soul food works⁴, and then also being in the Caribbean, having that Caribbean influence as well. I don’t know if a lot of people (living) in Africa know that the foods in the Caribbean are so similar,” Chef Sage said.

She said that she is seeing more African American customers who are in Ghana for "Year of Return" activities. They are visiting to mark 400 years since the start of the transatlantic slave trade.

The visitors sit with regular customers as Chef Sage and her family serve plant-based meals. Chef Sage was born in Brooklyn, New York, moved to Saint⁵ Croix in the U.S. Virgin⁶ Islands as a child and moved to Ghana in 2005.

Some “African Americans…do consider this our homeland and we are happy to be here but that food, you are still looking for what you are accustomed too. So I think I attract African Americans because I still have those flavors⁸,” Sage said.

Chef Sage does private cooking in Accra in addition to her café. The food changes weekly and can include anything from sweet potato pie to tacos to salads - all made with local products.

Customers like Grisel Industrioso say the food is about good tastes and community.

“You have people from Jamaica, different Caribbean islands…you have people from California and from the East like myself but there is something that brings us together as one people. We can all relate to this food,” Industrioso said.

The ties between food in Ghana and the United States are something Essie Bartels also explores. She is a businesswoman with a real interest in food. She sells spices and sauces that show the similarities in foods from around the world.

“Being able to see where all these hotspots of flavors are and bringing them together, that is what I am trying to do with Essie Spice and that is what I hope the Year of Return will do,” she said. She added, we want “people to see how connected even food is around the world.”

Bartels and Chef Sage say the Year of Return is a good time to understand the relationship between shared African history and food.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

transatlantic – adj. involving people or countries on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean

spice – n. a substance (such as pepper or nutmeg) that is used in cooking to add flavor⁷ to food and that comes from a dried plant and is usually a powder or seed

customer – n. someone who buys goods or services from a business

soul food – n. food that comes from the African-American experience

accustomed –adj. describing something that seems normal or usual

flavor – n. a good or appealing taste

1 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

2 sage   

n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的

参考例句：

• I was grateful for the old man's sage advice.我很感激那位老人贤明的忠告。
• The sage is the instructor of a hundred ages.这位哲人是百代之师。

3 loyal   

adj.忠诚的，忠心的

参考例句：

• He is a loyal friend.他是一位忠诚的朋友。
• I judge him to be loyal.我认为他很忠诚。

4 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

5 saint   

n.圣徒；基督教徒；vt.成为圣徒，把...视为圣徒

参考例句：

• He was made a saint.他被封为圣人。
• The saint had a lowly heart.圣人有谦诚之心。

6 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

7 flavor   

n.味，滋味，味道；风味；vt.调味，加味于

参考例句：

• I like the flavor of chocolate.我喜欢巧克力的味道。
• Each flavor was totally unique.每一种味道都是独一无二的。

8 flavors   

n.味( flavor的名词复数 )；韵味；特点；香料v.给…调味( flavor的第三人称单数 )；给…增添风趣

参考例句：

• He goes for its full,delicious flavors. I go for its economy. 他欣赏它的浓郁和可口的味道。我则欣赏它的便宜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The different kinds of quarks or leptons are known technically as flavors. 夸克和轻子的这些个同种类，从技术上看是有特色的。 来自辞典例句