Fulani Foodways with Chef Binta

around it. Inspired by all these different communities across Africa. Oh good, Welcome back to the point of origin. On today's episode, we're talking about full Learning foodways and cuisine with Chef Fatma into the Fula. Fulani or fu Bay are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahil and West Africa, Dispersed across the region and inhabiting many countries. They live mainly in West Africa and the northern parts of Central Africa, but also in South Sudan and Sudan

and regions near the Red Sea coast. Chef Benta is an indelible ambassador of Fulani food. Born and raised in Freetown, Sierra Leon to first generation Sierra Leonian fulanis of Ghanaian descent. Binta describes herself as a modern nomadic chef and as you're here in the episode, she's just doing what her people have done all along. So both my grandparents owned like a kukui um store actually, and then my mom

also you used to sell like a street food. We have something clotical life, right, so she would sell that in our like like our small store. Um. So my love for its go from there, and I remembered like I would go to school, come back home and my job was like the glorified steward for my grandmother. I was washing pots that are so big I could probably

fit into. So that was my job. So my love for it started there and studied international relations, left Sierra Leone, traveled, came back and then I had an AhR moment that this is what I love. Why not focus? So that's how my journeys started. And then went to colinary school in Naiobi, worked in hotels and got bored at some point because I had this try if when it comes

to like just sharing the food. Also my worries when it comes to the culture fading a way, people not understanding the cuisine, and I took a lip of it to quit my stable, hotel job and full and the kitchen and Krisin. Through her Dining a Dinner series, Chef Pinter gives guests traditional nomadic dining experiences highlighting full learning culture and cuisine. The dinners combine her nomadic Fulani roots and formal training at the Kenyan Culinary Institute. So that

was it. And most of the Fulling communities like people there. They were really excited about it because these people have moved for years. Some of them don't know how the food tastes like anymore. Um So me bringing all these ingredients and getting everyone on the mat and them having to like a experience the food, it was very It was like a deja vu moment for most people. Shoes are not allowed and once guests have made their way to the mat, they are greeted with a welcoming drink

like watermelon and ginger beer. The starter is based on the theme of the event and explains the context and history of the dishes ingredients. The main dish, chef Bnter describes as bold like coat testicles or phonio salad. The evening ends with traditional tea and an opportunity to ask

questions about the food and traditions of Fulani people. Yeah, so moving to Guinea, having to be in a village where there's no electricity, um, very small village and having to like fetch firewood, gets food from the farm and

prepare it's everything was done from scratch. So that's really shaped me as a chef in how also I tell my story because I got to experience all that um when I was around my teenage years, so that really influenced me as a chef and my love also for full and cuisine and preserving it's because that is really

hard to experience now. Most of these villages are kind of disappearing because most of the young people don't go back and stay in the villages anymore, and all are like our elders, grandmothers, grand no just grandparents and general most of them have had have passed away, so it's really hard to go back and get um the originality of fun and the cuisine and the storytelling in general. Because we were colonized by the British, so it's mostly British,

partly Nigeria. And also because we have. We have like one of the largest type in Sierra Leone. They are originally from um Nigeria. They are called the Forbes and if you look back, they're actually from the yellow bath type. So there are so many similarity when it comes to the Nigeria and food like things like something they called

more and more in Nigeria. We also have it. We call it all in allen So and our food is very small leafy and it goes with a lot of ice, with rice, a lot in sill, so a bit of that. But mostly my focus has been fullany because then I grew up with in like Sierra Leone dishes and I have so much love for it. Something I enjoyed um.

I also go back to it sometimes and just take inspiration and creating things and the beauty of infusing um full and a cuisine and silen and because it's always easy for me, because you know Sila, we share borders and we share also even our cuisine. We we it's almost the same thing. There's not much difference. It's the same. Fulani food is mostly prepared using ingredients that are sun

dried and can be preserved for months. The diet is mainly derived from cattle and includes dairy items like yogurt, milk, butter, and meat, ground nuts, starches like sorghum, corn and fonio, a nutritious grain with a nutty taste and a pebble like texture that's native to Africa round out the diet. Like the black herdsman or cowboys of the mid nineteenth century in Texas, the Fulani people are nomadic and raised

cattle primarily for the purposes of business. Most things that people confuse is that the thing we eat meat a lot. I will start with that we do it for business full and is mostly focused on offers, like we eat offers a lot. So most times if we slaughter, for example, a cow, who sell everything else and they will save the offers for the for like for cooking at home. And sound right also to our our food, our dishes,

our ingredients in general is mostly sound right. And that is because we are always moving, so that's our way of preserving our ingredients for the next migration. And we eat corn a lot. Corn is a huge part of our diet. Um things like for new is a huge part of our diet. And then also rice, the local rice um it's a huge part of our diet. Vegetables

not much because we hardly thinks that are fresh. So even when it comes to vegetable sound right and things like oh well, um, even though it's vegetables, we actually have a dish that's really interesting. Um we sound different different types of vegetables with vegetables and then cook that into one part which the other parts in Africa call them, but we make it one and then um, add salt and just dried chilies. So have we don't. That's that we don't exporting so much. So it's mostly sound dried.

That must be a very intensely flavored broth. That sun drying that sounds good. So when you do the sun drying, how does it work? You like lay down a mat or something and then cut the vegetables in half and then let them stay out in the sun for how long? So we don't use maths because we believe that the math is only mens for players or eating in the evenings with the families. So it's almost like we respect

the math so much. That's why you're not even allowed to like step foot with like slippers, not allowed to bring and his shoes or slippers on the maps and that's something also practice. When I'm most in events, we have like a corner where everybody will live their shoes. So when it comes to where sundry are things, we normally use clay which will mix with the cows punk mm hmm. And so we designed the space for sun drying,

so patterns really nice lay sticks around. Um create that space only for sound drying things, or they will build raxis and sticks. Even the homes because you know our homes also can be dismantled. It's it's movable. We create space inside like a pantry which we will hang our account and then also just keep any other thing that

related to food and cooking. Where does most of the beef girl that is raised or that that folaney or selling, Where does most of the girl local to the market, you know, slaughter and cell and most of the During this piece thing I was doing, I realized that sometimes even the cattles the area and it's not it doesn't belong to them. They do it for like politicians because they know how to do it. They know how to

handle cattles. So people would decide to do it as a business and then almost like outsource it to a fully look fun to handle it for them, and then they will pay the person. Um, yeah, start the amount of which m should we add the cattle for them? Wow? And that's very complex because then you have people who are in power who are actually encouraging Fulani to raise cattle. But then the neighbors are taking it out on the Fulani.

But this is what they need to make a living living, and they are quiet about it because they can't even comment maybe immediate because right, of course, of course it's very political. So um, what are you when you're in the midst of those um negotiations? Um, what are you saying? To people on either side? It is difficult because one most of these Fullney people they don't even understand the

local language. And because they don't expect borders. I would say, we don't we we don't expect borders, so and they will come and settle. So whenever they has a fight, the locals will just impose the laws on them. For example, We're going to find you. If your cattles in, then we're finding you this and they are forced to just do it, and sometimes they can be stubborn also they're like, no, I'm not doing and they will settled there the knowledge

is start, so it's it's very chaotic. I always try to go there communicate, so I'll talk to them what's the problem is. They'll tell me fullarney, and then I will explain to the locals, which are like chiefs and all that. So it's it's hard. We end up settling it and then I'll come back to accur focus on my work and then the next one week or two

weeks they'll call you again for the same issue. So I'm like, you know what I think, if you people are working together, you you understand the importance of agriculture, it will be easy, you know, whens to handing all this because they would also help in terms of protecting so if it's hard for them to get like a green air for the curtles after and then they would want to move. And one thing I've been also kind of course going to convince them is that this moving

is very historic. You don't even need to move your cows. Honestly, when you think about it, you can just create a ranch and keep them in and feed them. But because of lack of education also just understanding in generality believe because it has been for like how many years, they just move, move when you can actually just be in one place. It's it's it's time we work smart. That's one thing I've been trying to, like um, convince them on it's time it works smart. This moving it's something

that is very historic. You don't have to move anymore for you to you know, um, feed your your cattle. The situation depicted by Chef bin To here is a tense one. Fulani herdsmen are a nomadic group believed to be the largest of their kind in the world, and found across West and Central Africa. In search of abundant grass and water for cattle, herders inevitably will clash with farmers.

These disagreements have turned violent, and armed herdsmen claim to have been provoked from armed gangs and farming communities who are trying to steal their cattle. As a warming planet diminishes grazing lands, Fulani herdsmen have gone further and further south, and so too has their conflict. And like many violent conflicts, it is based on the land. But since herders are selling mostly to local markets, the same communities who are condemning them are also the ones that are keeping them

in business. Steps to expand and contain grazing areas are now being taken and with these sometimes deadly conflicts as the backdrop, chef bent his work as a culinary ambassador. It's more of the latter and less of the former.

And Fulani fresh milk is termed because some and yogurt pinda on a popular milk is fermented milk with corn couscous, which is referred to as latch cheerity or One question I've I've always wondered is because we talk about like I know that folks, black folks and really um, the majority of the world has a hard time processing dairy. Um do are Foolani people? Like do you all have different stomachs or something? Or do you not? Do you

not eat dairy? Like is it a different experience? Like of course I'm kidding, but like what like where does dairy fit into the to the diet? And um? Is it's something that just people UM are able to absorb somehow? Listen. I've also wondered because when I was younger, I could handle it, but now whenever I cross avocate it story. But I think it has to do with UM, your system in general. That's what they know that's what they've they've eating since they want because even has a baby.

They pastelize the milk. We even pasteurize our own milk. Who have like this God, We will put the milk and boil it for some time traditionally and then shake. They have a way to hold and dance and it's so semonious. That's not just about specialize in the milk. They have a particular song they will sing while they're doing it. They have a particular dance. So it's not just about the food. It's also about them put in the culture, having this addition, you know, around it. So

I think it's the system in general. They are used to eat adaptation. M hm. That's so amazing to me. I really, I really wish I had a fool on his stomach as much as much the area as I eat. I just suffer. You can't, guy, you get used to it. Um, what about I know that you do a lot of work with funio. Chef Pierre Tom is a big, big inspiration a hero for me. Um, Can you talk a little bit about funnio and and how that plays into

your food as well? Okay, so for me, um, my love for it goes all the way back during that Civil war. Because I come from a huge family. I'm talking over one cousins. I am not joking, so cause imagine my my mom come comes from a very large family, my dad and all of these people going into this small village during the Civil war. You have over three people in this village and the rice couldn't sustain us.

So it was really hard and the only thing that could really sustain us during that time was for New. It's easy to grow and also it doesn't take much time. It's to twelve weeks you can harvest, so it started there um and then I also learned a lot of

recipes when I was in the village. So after I started trending reading about Chef P. L. Cham and seeing all the interesting things he was doing with for New, I decided to jump on the the wagon and promote it because it's something I eat all too growing up and then also have experienced firsthand how it came, how healthy it is, how also where it comes to sustainability in general. So for me it was important to no like be a voice for it was very important for me.

So it's actually a huge part of my menu. I always try to share Phni. It's one of the status we use. It's the most we hardly use rice. Phon new is the biggest. UM. This is a huge part. It's in a nut shell. It's a huge part of my menu. It's actually hard to process. That's why because mostly like in the village, is because I actually work with women. We go phonew in the north of Ghana, and in the beginning there were only doing this it's

traditional way. That's why I actually had to like stepping in terms of working getting people involved in order to help with machines and stuff. It's really tedious and at the end of the day after going through all that process, sometimes you get so much sand in it um because also you know, the grains are so tiny, the same

size of a sand, So it's extremely tedious. So UM the reason why I started this movement when I was visiting for like inspiration and meeting these full learning women and some of them were complaining that, um, we're actually tired of staying home doing the same thing and women are not allowed also to own landing Ghana especially and they're not, so they wanted to get involved in this UM share it like processing Phonio just so they keep

themselves busy. But the men challenge around this round. This is processing it, and these women do it on a daily basis because for them in the knot, that's like huge part of their diet. It. Our food is very plain and simple. So mostly we use for like enhancing flavor um flavoring and that we use the African barbsipe peper Sunday. Our food is very plain and simple, very plain and simple. Number. I want to ask you about African cuisine. Broadly speaking, it seems kind of like and

we've kind of been saying. I talked to a Nigerian chef about this, um like DEBI that African food is kind of having a moment and that it is kind of again, broadly speaking, the only cuisine that hasn't been culturally colonized so big. So I want to know if you kind of agree that African food is having a moment, if you see that as um as true um, because in a global contact or I think one African cuisine is untouched, it's actually untouched. So I always tell people

that we we are modern a ngelof rice. African cuisines were more. Actually, I don't consider jelove Frice African In case you don't know, jollof is the very popular and very contentious rice from West Africa, popularized in countries like Nigeria and Gambia and Senegal. And if you'd like to learn more about it and the beef behind it, you can listen to Point of Origin episode eleven where Chef your One Day Komo Lafe breaks it down in detail. Okay,

back to Chef Mente. I just think it's just traveled all over the place and everybody they have their own version. So but it's a good thing because I think Joelofe has brought some attention also to African cuisine. Um, it has given us platforms also, so I feel like we have so much. It is rich. We we have no idea it is. There is so much because one thing also, I've realized the more I explore, the more curious I get when it comes to African cuisin, the more adventures

I get to learn a lot. And then I also tend to like see all these similarities. Um, but I feel like sometimes it is not represented well in my opinion. UM. I remember going to an African restaurant in New York and I was expecting um a particular dish, which I know how important that dishes to called that culture, that's part of the world, and it was fused. So I really feel like we twick it. Sometimes it's it's the twicky too much because if you're eating French, because in

it's French. In creating Chinese, it is Chinese creating Japanese food, it is Japanese food. So I really hope that we can embrace it as it is um all its flavors, its spiciness, the richness um. And if you want to make it look pretty, you can make it look pretty, but the tests should be original. So your view is that African cuisine is untouched, meaning that the versions that we're seeing, maybe like in restaurants it's particularly fair in

the US, are such a small part. Yes, it's infinite everything that, Yeah, this this this interesting thing that we have it it is amazing. So I always I think it's important for us to know the base before we play around with it. It's okay to fuse, it's okay to recreate, but understand the the ingredients, understand the flavor building, understand the original dish itself before you you play around

with it. Sometimes it's it's hard because there are days I just want to stay one of their persons authentic because if I'm trying to like preserve it. So that's why I documents a lot. Whenever I go to these full learning communities, I documents the authentic recipes that I will learn from the grandmother, different things, and then our document those. And there are days also I try to fuse it because sometimes it can only be that appealing

to someone who doesn't know this cuising. It can only be appealing if you fuse it because and that's why I believe also m most other full oarning chaps has A don't really invested their time in it because Um stephanitiely it can actually be and it takes passion. It takes passion to really do it. One thing I would love to share with you also because it's it has

been like a learning process for me. Um. A year ago I started working with Angio as an ambassador for peace between the full and eas and the farmers because they've been fighting a lot and we've been working on that because we want to get the full and people involving farming because they don't actually believe when it comes

to like farming in general. Um, their focus more is on gir and cattle and that has caused a lot of problems when comes to like the farmers and the headsmen, because the cattles we go and invade the farm and destroy the firm, and we we've been trying to like educate them. Yeah, if they believe in farming, they will help the farmers protect the farm. But because they don't believe much on it, that's why they leave the cattles to go and invade, and cattle invasion has caused a

lot of problems across Africa. So yeah, that's one thing we've been focusing on. That's that's very sensitive when you say headsmen right right, especially if there are Foulani farmers you mean exactly, no, just local farmers. So because they will come in, so they'll move into a town and then they will settle and they always try to like stay a bit outside of the town. It's almost like

they hardly mingle with the locals. So they create their space, um, stay there, and then the cattles will go and invade these farms and destroy and that has caused like a lot of fights. So most times are going into like negotiate between these uh two. But I got to a point it was like you go, you negotiate one week later the calleg again or we're fighting again. You have

to go. So we're thinking, why if these people believe in farming, if they are actually famine and they know the value, because you cannot just sustain yourself with just offers and your small ingredients that you're going behind your backyard. I think that would help in terms of settling all these issues across Africa. I always want them to know that Fuller is a modern headsman, because I feel like the focus has been only on that. When you say Fuller,

Ne's almost someone is gonna panic in the room. So I really wanted to change that. And also at least whoever comes to my match to live as an ambassador for the full and is that okay? Apart from them being headsman and all the political thing that is going around, the name Fulan is, but also the accuisine they have something That accuisine is rich, you know, their culture is interesting,

stories and everything. Of the many interviews that I've done for this podcast, Chef Binas is one that really stood out for me. The nomenclature of culinary ambassador has been a catch all term for chefs whose ethnic, racial, or sometimes just appropriative identities are meant to represent as a proxy for a larger group. As a black man in the United States, especially one whose professional life is in predominantly white spaces, I am, whether or not I like it,

a proxy for an entire racial group. And when your identity is a threat, it raises the stakes of the ambassadorship. When you are an interpreter and ambassador in quotation marks and a deadly conflict, as Chef bin Too is, it makes me think about the people that we've given the title to in the past and its generosity or in

some cases it's burden culinary ambassador. Growing up in Sierra Leone's brutal civil war, Chef Binta understands very well food as a matter of survival and the tension between what parts of our past are brought into the future. As she says, for the Fulani people, given their nomadic customs, a meal is not just food on a plate. I'd

like to thank our guest today, Chefata Binta. You can learn more about her work and Fulani food ways at wet Stone Magazine Dot com and if you'd like to learn more about African food ways, you can check out episode eleven Niger, which examines Nigerian food and also systems of Power with Tune day Way on Como La Fa and Chef Michael Elec Bedett. We'd also like to thank our incredible podcast producer Selene Glazier. Selene, you are the best. To our editor and wet Stone partner and director of

video David Alexander in London. I appreciate you, Dave. Thanks to our wet Stone production intern Quentin le Beau, and last but not least, my business partner Mel she who makes all things at wet Stone possible. Thank you Mel. We'd also like to thank our partners in production at I Heeart Radio to Gabrielle Collins, our supervising producer and executive producer Christopher Haciotis. We'll be back next week with more from the world of food worldwide. H