After China and France, Africa will host its own continental culinary showcase with the "Golden Ladle," a global gastronomy competition highlighting the culinary excellence and innovation of young African chefs. This prestigious event brings together young people from diverse backgrounds, each representing their unique gastronomic heritage. Scheduled for November 15th, the "Golden Ladle" shapes gastronomic trends and serves as an invaluable source of inspiration for reinventing the art of cooking. Fatoumata Diallo, Head of Communications, gave an interview to Seneweb in which she discusses the challenges and prospects of this major African competition.

Introduce yourself, Ms. Fatoumata Diallo!

I am Fatoumata DIALLO, head of communication and public relations for the Grand African Culinary Competition, the Golden Ladle.

This year Guinea is preparing to host the golden ladle again, what about it?

Yes, the Golden Ladle is in its first major edition and we are doing everything we can to make it a memorable first time for all Guineans and Africans who came from the sub-region to take part in the activity.

Where did the idea for the shady gold competition come from?

The idea for the Golden Ladle stemmed from a very worrying observation we made about the state of our cuisine in our own country. You know, cultural exchange isn't a bad thing, but if we end up completely abandoning our culinary culture in favor of others, then we're losing ourselves. Currently in Conakry, like so many other African capitals, it's very difficult to confidently direct a tourist or foreigner to a restaurant and guarantee they'll find a local dish. In fact, the chefs in the hotels and upscale restaurants are often foreigners, and the small eateries lack hygiene. These chefs are therefore forced to serve foreign dishes, which is very sad for us. We want to avoid this and help you bring value to African cuisine, particularly Guinean cuisine.

What is the main objective of the Golden Shady Competition?

The main objective of La Louche d'Or is to promote Guinean and even African culinary heritage, to support those working in this sector, and to contribute to the formalization and better structuring of those currently operating in the informal sector. Ultimately, the real goal of La Louche d'Or is for Guineans and other Africans, both at home and abroad, to identify with our dishes, because we are incredibly rich thanks to the diversity of our regions and ethnicities.

 

Can we get an idea of the number of participants?

This year, we had 40 applicants from several different locations and we were only able to select 16 of them due to the relevance of their products and performance.

Does this competition contribute to the promotion of Guinean culinary art?

Oh yes, for this competition, all the events and even the public buffet will be 100% Guinean. This is the first edition, and with the support of several institutions, next year the number of participants from other African countries will increase, with the aim of reaching the entire continent. Perhaps one day our chefs will be able to compete with foreign chefs and those from the West.

The final word!

A big thank you to Seneweb for this interview; it was a real pleasure to be received by you this morning. And I would say to all the participants and spectators that this first edition of the Grand Culinary Competition is just the beginning of a very grand and wonderful adventure for the image of Guinea and all of Africa.