A multi-part blog series by LaFortune Jeannette Djabea
Part 1
Coming to America
When I first came to the United States, I was lost. As a born Cameroonian, who
immigrated to the USA, I didn’t know what to eat. The food here was so foreign
to me. As nature has it, one should always try something once to become
accustomed to it or to get used to eating it.
My first meal in America was a chicken burger from McDonald’s. I was
hooked, and that became a place for me to go for breakfast, lunch, and
dinner. Gradually, I started to get accustomed to American food, Chinese,
Mexican, Japanese, and Italian.
Regardless of my taste buds eventually adjusting to other countries’ food, I
missed my culture and looked for ways to maintain my identity. Living in
Atlanta, Georgia at the time, I started looking for Cameroonian restaurants,
stores, or simply any African stores near me.
As I looked for African restaurants, I noticed that Ethiopian and Moroccan
food are the only African countries whose food is known here. The rest of
African food is not recognized as it should be. This made me wonder…How
can the stigma about African flavors be broken?
Though cocoa from West Africa is enjoyed globally in chocolate and
baking, most Westerners are completely unfamiliar with the flavors of
African culture. In Atlanta, African cuisine had begun to gain in popularity in
part due to African Musicians and African clubs that were opening and
providing a closer look into what African culture has to offer.
Luckily, during my search for my cultural food, I came across an African
store and got my provisions there. After living in Atlanta for a while, I moved
to Massachusetts where more African stores exist if you are willing to travel
a distance. There are Ethiopian and Moroccan restaurants in Boston but no
Cameroonian restaurants. I then moved to New Hampshire and discovered
there was nothing about African food anywhere — at least not in Nashua
where I still reside.
In 2016 – 2017, I became excited after seeing there was a Nigerian
restaurant in Hudson. I decided to take a trip. To my dismay, the place was
closed. I realized that although people talk about being adventurous when
presented with an opportunity to try African food, many will change their
tune. I felt that New Hampshire, in general, was and still is missing out on
the diversity of African food, which is more nutritious than much of the food
we eat here.
My question is why? What is it about African food that is stopping so
many from trying it? Stay tuned for my next blog where I attempt to
answer these questions…
