A Zambian chef has told the BBC’s Africa Daily podcast that she does not take seriously international lists that rank the best cuisines in the world.
It comes after Taste Atlas, which describes itself as a “world atlas of traditional dishes, local ingredients, and authentic restaurants” published their 2022 list of the best 95 cuisines in the world.
Only three African countries made it to the top 50, including Algeria, South Africa and Tunisia.
Taste Atlas says rankings are based on audience votes for ingredients, dishes and beverages.
Italy, Greece, Spain, Japan and India were the top five countries on the list. But some questioned the order of the list and why so few African countries made it to the top 50.
“Those lists are based on tourists,” said Lillian Elidah, a Zambian chef and the owner of Twaala, a restaurant in the capital Lusaka.
The countries at the top of the list are “like top 10 tourists destinations for Europeans” so “obviously they’re going to choose them”, she said.
Ms Elidah said Zambian chefs need to work on how they present their food and showcase a greater variety of dishes. But it is a tough task to make Zambians embrace their authentic cuisine, she said.
“Most of our ingredients and dishes have really lost its true identity and meaning because most people have associated it with poverty so they have trauma of food poverty, and they don’t really want to eat that.”
She added that she does not believe people have to physically visit Zambia to enjoy its cuisine.
“They should be able to be intrigued by the food and how we promote it. This starts by having shows, having information and now with the help of social media, this should be so easy.”
The tourism boards across the world should also be doing more to promote African cuisine, she said.
“Training our cooks and chefs” will also help to bring African food to a global stage, she said.
