African Food Writers/Bloggers/Vloggers Unite!

I'm in the process of developing a list of serious African food bloggers/writers/vloggers (with a proven track record of sustained blogging/writing/videoing). This is the list so far. Please note that it's not talking about food writers/vloggers who occasionally write about African lifestyle or foods. Here's the list so far:  please let me know of others I've missed or other corrections.

http://www.afrolems.com/

http://www.kitchenbutterfly.com/

http://www.dobbyssignature.com/

www.westafricacooks.com/

https://aftradvillagekitchen.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.nigerianlazychef.com/

http://www.allnigerianrecipes.com/

http://www.9jafoodie.com/

http://www.executivemamaput.com/

http://www.myburntorange.com/

http://www.kadiafricanrecipes.com/

https://www.zoesghanakitchen.co.uk/

https://www.mzansistylecuisine.co.za/

http://www.theafricangourmet.com/

http://funke-koleosho.blogspot.com/

http://www.korasoi.com/blog/

https://theafricanpotnutrition.com/

http://www.pepperandstew.com/

http://toimoietcuisine.com/

http://www.africanfoodmap.com/

http://www.kadiafricanrecipes.com/

http://jikonimagic.com/
http://www.pierrethiam.com/

http://dooneyskitchen.com

http://www.1qfoodplatter.com

We're back! Calling all African food writers, bloggers, videographers and other professionals

Special Alert July 11, 2017! Don't miss this:TODAY ONLY The Ghana Cookbook  is an Amazon Prime Special of $5 off. Use code PRIMEBOOKS17 See https://www.amazon.com/The-Ghana-Cookbook-Fran-Osseo-Asare/dp/0781813433. Only $11.95 with code. World Gourmand 1st Place winner 2016.

It's been months since February and the trip to Ghana to the African Diaspora Homecoming Conference in Accra. That was a fruitful trip, and there is more to come about that, especially emerging Ghana chocolate-makers and the growing moringa market.

However, in January I mentioned over a million visits to betumiblog, and floated the idea of forming some kind of association/ network/alliance/
affiliation/organization for Pan-African (African?) culinary professionals. Several people expressed interest and there have been preliminary talks. I was able to meet up recently with Nigerian Ozoz Sokoh (of Kitchen Butterfly) in NYC, and we had further discussions. We want to propose to you, our fellow African food writers, bloggers, and others serious about promoting and preserving the culinary legacy and innovations of Africans, to join us. This would not be the same as a chefs association. Are there already similar organizations we do not know about? Let us know.

The official name? To be decided. Send your suggestions by commenting here, and letting us know you support the idea. Tell us what would be most helpful.  

Just think what it could mean to have our own industry voice and support groups. Please help us spread the word. Let others know via Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Eventually we may grow into something more official, but right now we're interested in establishing  a base.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

No budget. No publisher. No photographer. No problem!

I am humbled and excited right now, and want to share a bit of the story behind The Ghana Cookbook. I hope it will encourage you.

For years, publishers and agents told me "there's just no market for a sub-Saharan Africa single-country cookbook. Why don't you do a regional Africa cookbook instead?" For years I declined. A writer friend warned me "No agent will pick up a book like that that no one will buy."

I kept saying  "that's like doing a regional "Europe" cookbook, or a regional "Asia" cookbook, and lumping Italian, French, German, British, Dutch, Spanish, etc. together, or Chinese, Indian, Thai, Japanese, Korean, etc. all together.

Finally, I started the cookbook myself.  Proposals came back, rejected. "There's no market." I didn't give up. I kept working. I learned to photograph food. I kept writing and speaking. I kept blogging. Along the way, many of you found me and urged me on. New African culinary voices arose. The International Association of Culinary Professionals gave me a boost with a pre-contract grant to pursue my dream. Barbara Baeta in Ghana joined the project. We kept working, fueled by belief and love that someday its time would come.

Finally, in 2014, visionary Priti Chitnis Gress at Hippocrene Books decided to take a chance.

Let's all prove those gatekeepers were wrong--may this cookbook open the floodgates to a realization of the vastness and variety of this huge second-largest continent, with over 4 dozen countries, and the culinary riches it has to share.

Incidentally, "betumi" comes from the Akan word "tumi," meaning the ability to do

something. It alludes to a kind of power that comes from the concentration of ability, the way strands come together to make a broom or a rope strong. To my thinking, "betumi" means "we can do it."

(p. s. please remember these photos are copyrighted.)