Zoe believes we are on the cusp of an African food revolution. There is a longing to try something that is actually new, not just re-spun, and African cuisines are filling that gap. It’s the last continent of relatively unexplored food in the mainstream domain. For too long Africans have kept this incredible food a greedy secret.
Since childhood Zoe has been having a love affair with food from across Africa. Her Ghanaian father used to bring home strange and exotic ingredients such as Kenkey, Shito, Tilapia, Smoked fishes of all varieties and he would cook them – mostly for himself, to get that comforting taste of home.
She would hang around him in the kitchen, quizzing him on the names of the ingredients and where they were from, picking from his plate. Partly to connect with him, partly she realised over time, cooking and eating Ghanaian food was a way for her to connect with his home too.
Without any extended Ghanaian family in London this part of Zoe’s mixed heritage (her mother is Irish) was foreign to her. Food was her entry point to exploring this side of her identity and she fell in love with her Dad’s version of Groundnut Soup – which later became her Peanut Butter Stew, now a signature dish on Zoe’s menu.
All her life she has cooked this dish when she felt the need for nourishment, comfort and a taste of home. Also cooking it for friends who would continuously pester “when are you going to cook that peanut butter stew again?”
This passion for cooking for people and sharing the flavours of Ghana led to the creation of the West African food adventure which has become Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen.
Since 2010 Zoe has established a successful casual dining restaurant in Brixton , a busy Streetfood & Event Catering business. She has written a cookbook of traditional recipes that she has re-mixed for the modern kitchen, enabling more people than ever to join the African food adventure and explore flavours from Ghana in a way they can incorporate into every day cooking.
Zoe’s mission has been to enable as many people as possible to have access to this amazing food and culture.