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Tendai Rupapa

Senior Reporter

THE curtain came down on First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa’s Cookout traditional Meal Competition with finals that were rich in colour and quality which saw winners walking away with huge prizes as part of measures to cultivate interest in indigenous dishes which have high nutritional value and medicinal properties.

Yesterday’s event was a grand event which brought together the who-is-who in the tourism and hospitality sector who separately attested to the importance of traditional dishes in fighting obesity, diabetes and hypertension, among many other health challenges. 

Twenty contestants, who won two each from competitions held across the country’s 10 provinces, were vying for honours in the African themed event where mouth-watering traditional dishes were prepared.

The First Lady left contestants and dignitaries in awe when she also prepared several dishes which were however, not for competition, but to offer moral support and encouragement to other women. 

She skilfully presented fish and green mealies fritters, fried okra and offals mixed with pumpkin and baby marrow. Her dishes also included spinach stuffed with offals, a special vegetable dish comprising a mixture of potatoes, carrots, green beans and peas and sadza.

Her watermelon juice was in a class of its own while the food was well garnished, compelling anyone who set sight on it to want to have a bite.

All her dishes were prepared on both a tsotso stove and electric stove to show that traditional dishes can be prepared anywhere despite one’s locality or economic circumstance.

First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa congratulates Mrs Naume Chimanikire (wife to Chief Seke, left) who could not help shedding tears of joy while Minister of State for Harare Oliver Chidawu and Senate President Mable Chinomona look on in Harare yesterday

Mrs Sima Amir from Pakistan prepared a sumptuous traditional dish from her country to show her appreciation for the First Lady’s efforts though she was not competing for honours.

Unique dishes at the colourful event included baobab fruit sadza, nyii and crushed groundnuts chocolate and zondo jelly made from zondo soup, tsubvu ice cream made from crushed tsubvu and milk.

Also on display were sorghum flakes (cereals) served with mukaka wechidzakina made from groundnuts, cucumber jam and cake made from groundnuts, pumpkin and sweet potatoes. 

Classic was madora pizza and snacks made from a mixture of roasted groundnuts, pumpkin seeds, dried guavas, dried mangoes, roasted round nuts and cowpeas.

Cooking oil from pumpkin seeds was showcased alongside Zim terin, a mixture of cooked groundnuts, roundnuts, beans mixed with eggs and baked.

Guests were also shown various ways through which the Usika fruit can be used to make porridge, marinade, sauce, health drink and steamed pudding with the participants describing Usika as a wonder fruit.

Mrs Naume Chimanikire, the wife to Chief Seke of Mashonaland East Province came out tops and walked away with a four-plate gas stove with oven, gas cylinder, set of Kango pots, food hamper, two nights for two at a resort place of her choice and air tickets for two to Tanzania courtesy of Air Zimbabwe.

Beaming with pride, she said: “It is my great joy today for being crowned the best countrywide. I want to thank the First Lady because she showed us the way. 

“She taught us to grow traditional grains, but we did not know she had such great plans. I will continue with the competitions in my area of jurisdiction until everyone embrace the traditional dishes.”

In second place was Ms Edinah Tendani representing Harare Province. She won a two-plate gas stove with oven, gas cylinder, set of Kango pots, microwave, food hamper, breakfast and activities for two at a tourism resort of her choice.

Mrs Agnes Siziba of Matabeleland South came third.

She won a gas stove, gas cylinder, microwave, Kango pots and a food hamper.

The mystery basket winner was Bulawayo represented by Mrs Joyce Dube. She came up with an innovative dish after being presented with a mystery basket. She received a mystery prize.

To spice up the event, professionals in the hotel and tourism sector also took part in their competition. 

Among the winning hotels were Cresta, RTG Rainbow and Ambassador which took first, second and third place, respectively.

In her remarks, the First Lady said the journey to the finals had been exciting and took her to “almost every corner of our nation where I have met, cooked and dined with children, the elderly, chiefs’ wives and women from all walks of life as they showcased their diverse traditional cuisine and cooking skills”.

First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa prepares a traditional dish in Harare yesterday

Through the competition, the mother of the nation said she sought to raise awareness and revive interest in traditional foods. 

“These foods are available, can be grown literary anywhere, and can be accessed by almost anyone in the country. Regrettably interest in them has been reducing over the past few years. We need to reverse this. 

“Secondly, we also wanted to improve the food preparation and presentation skills by our citizens so that the food appeals to all including the younger generation,” she said.

“Another key objective was to encourage cross fertilisation of ideas in cooking methods. This was evident at every provincial capital where I have no doubt that each and every participant learnt some new recipe or how to prepare an additional dish or two,” she said thanking the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority’s experienced chefs who assisted the participants.

Another objective of the programme, the First Lady said, was to enhance the cooking capacities of influential women in various communities, such as the chief’s wives, so that they will henceforth share their knowledge with other members of the community.

“Finally, we also hoped that this competition would assist the practitioners in the hospitality industry to come up with what could be described as a ‘typical Zimbabwean dish’. Indeed as we went around Zimbabwe, it became evident which food is prepared in virtually all parts of the country. I hope the professional chefs and those in the hospitality industry will now take advantage of this and produce standard menus from that, which Zimbabweans from all provinces enjoy,” she said.

The mother of the nation expressed delight in that the competitions had raised the much-needed awareness on the importance of embracing traditional food and their nutritional value.

This, she said, was in line with the National Development Strategy, NDS1 (2021-2025) which identified the need to invest in local cultural resources including tangible and intangible heritage. 

“Personally, the competitions have left me a richer person, I have learnt various ways of preparing certain dishes, I have been introduced to new dishes,” Amai Mnangagwa said.

First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa looks at traditional dishes prepared during Amai’s cook out national traditional meal cooking competition in Harare yesterday. — Pictures: John Manzongo

Zimbabwe hosted its maiden Zim food and culture festival in 2019 which was spearheaded by the First Lady and this was the genesis of the competitions but due to Covid-19, the nation could not host it in 2020. 

“I am however, happy that we managed to keep the dream alive through the cookout competitions, which have allowed all our 10 provinces to showcase their diverse traditional cuisine,” said the First Lady. 

As the ambassador for health, she implored health professionals to speak out and help explain to citizens, young and old the medicinal qualities embedded in some of the country’s traditional food varieties. 

“Our forefathers consumed these food varieties and no doubt enjoyed a healthier life than nowadays. We are a people with a culture and a history, which we cannot afford to ignore. Let us empower the future generation with knowledge and wisdom about our culture and tradition and the healthier living that our parents and previous generations used to enjoy,” she said.

She thanked all the stakeholders who were involved in the competitions and urged them to make it an annual event to ensure that it is even more inclusive in terms of participation.

In appreciating the contestants, the First Lady gave all of them food hampers.

Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu said: “As we are going through this difficult time of Covid-19 where travel is still limited, we believe this is the best time to reinvent ourselves and offer a rejuvenated product when tourism fully resumes. 

“I therefore would like to assure you your excellency that your initiative was not in vain but marks the beginning of a great transformation in our gastronomy tourism. 

“The Zimbabwean cuisine story will never be the same. This initiative will also open relevant doors for our mothers who can now start supplying the services in the retail industry. 

“Amai’s traditional cookout competition has brought out the linkages that must be strengthened between our ministry and the Ministry of Women Affairs as we collectively work together in making sure that traditional dishes are available throughout the year. I would like to assure you your excellency that my ministry will continue in all the provinces to ensure that the diverse traditional foods found in each province complement the provincial tourism offering,” he said.

Minister of Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Dr Sithembiso Nyoni, Senate president Cde Mabel Chinomona and Ministers of State for Provincial affairs and Devolution graced the event.