By Frank Meke
Come June 16th, barely a month away, the second edition of the National Institute For Hospitality and Tourism Studies flag ship gastronomy festival, will flag off in Abuja, Nigeria.
The idea behind the foodies festival is possibly to help showcase the rich, diverse foods offerings of Nigeria and also put it on the international food market calendar.
Before I come back to this very significant vehicle for national tourism growth expectations, let me share some past efforts in this regard, which we failed either by act of commission or omission, did not harness the full potentials.
From 2017 and till 2013, one of the most interesting features, or I do say tourism products, strategically infused to market Nigerian tourism at World Travel Market by Otunba Segun Runsewe, is the Nigerian food offerings.
At the Nigerian pavilion and subsequently at other tourism trade shows to which Nigeria through NTDC, now remove the (c) and add (A), took the world stage is, the array of sumptuous Nigerian food ecosystem on display and the world took notice, particularly when Nigerian Day is celebrated.
I recall witnessing both black and white people from other climes, struggling through the long queues to have a taste of our food and the experience for me, remains nostalgic, unforgettable.
I recall particularly a white man who possibly unguided, went adventurous, took eba and egusi soup, and added fresh pepper prepared for eating roasted yam to his entire menu, the outcome, you can creatively guess.
For all the hues and cries about our spicy foods, it's a positive disruptive reality to which tourists crave to tell of the Nigerian food stories.
From China to Atlanta, Thailand to Hong Kong, friends of Nigeria and tourists who have been lucky to visit the growing themed Nigerian food restaurant abroad, are beginning to wonder why we are gradually influencing foreign "pepperless" content in the making of our food.
This is indeed why I think the Nihotour Gastronomy festival is important and should drive the originality in the preparation of our rich local cuisine as against, blind and pretentious efforts to "balance" or water down how these large features of how our swallows and soups are made just accommodate foreign palate.
The Chinese, Japanese, and Italians will never cut corners to serve you their local cuisines. Indeed, the Chinese will teach you how to use the sticks instead of spoon to eat their delicious delicacies.
During my first trip to Germany in 1994, I was tired of eating pastries and thought hard of what to eat before something terrible happened to me. With my friends, we headed to a Chinese restaurant and ordered rice. We told the waiter we want hot spice, not pepper, and we insisted we needed it plenty cos our stomachs were cold and needed warming up.
The waiter possibly thought we wanted to commit suicide and suspiciously, but carefully met our needs, to which we tipped him handsomely for the service.
By year 2000, same Germany, its cities of Berlin and frankfurt now trend Nigerian restaurants and you won't believe it, the Oyinbos and other African people are regular customers.
Dubai, Madrid, Califonia, London, Tokyo, Kenya, Johannesburg, and everywhere Nigerians were in large numbers. Our food, though expensive, can be accessed and even washed down with palm wine.
Recently, the American food and drugs administration gave our oha leaf a clean bill of health for export opportunity. That is the milleage and how far our local food features has gained significant foothold.
Now, when we come to the Gastronomy festival, which is about taste and eating, I can not but wonder if we also have the opportunity to be taught how some of the foods are prepared. This process has multiplier effect as we now have wives and children who struggle in the kitchen to prepare simple Nigerian meals.
Significantly, our culinary skills are important to the gastronomy content, and this is, to me, an important feature for this Nihotour Gastronomy festival it must try to enthrone.
As a vocational training school, Nihotour prides as one of Nigeria's best culinary schools, and that should be thoroughly considered in the effort to measure the taste in our different food ecosystems or how they are prepared.
Last year, I noticed that some of the so-called influencers from the movie world, though top Nigerian creative artists invited to maiden outing, were more at home with foreign food offerings than ours.
It will be ridiculous to bring forth a taster, a brand ambassador, a Nigerian of whatever professional background who will come to demarket our foods for whatever reason. I get angry when some of our people pretending to be more than the Oyinbos will fan their mouth with their hands, to evident that our food is spicy. That to me is very ugly, disrespectful to our culture.
I will request the Director General of Nihotour, Alhaji Nura Kangiwa, who has shown capacity and dedication to reinventing and promoting Nigerian food offerings to set up a special tasting table, and call out proud Nigerians to publicly endorse this all important project.
Now, to the confusion heralding this festival early in February or there about when the minister, Lai Mohammed, renamed it a United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) endorsed programme with NTDC or is it now, NTDA, to process its flagging, we wonder if good reason prevailed at last, considering the fact that NTDA, could not run its Nigerian flavour gastronomy game over time.
If there is another promise we are looking forward to before this government quit by May 29th, it is the UNWTO tourism academy. However, something tells me it is never gonna be, just as NTDA was the biggest failed tourism agency under the eight years of this administration. No wonder, the place is a cemetery to bury tourism ideas.
Back to Nihotour and festival, to either eat or learn to cook, all is well with me, but I would prefer to shape up my culinary skills but failing, I will duet with DG, Nihotour on the best food tasting competition. It is no joke oooo.
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