Food: Savor it Chez Vous

For all the cultural differences between America and Togo, I didn’t anticipate gastronomy to be the most difficult to overcome. To quote a fellow Volunteer, “Apart from people, food is what I miss the most.” The more I think about it the more I realize, if I can adjust to gastronomical differences, I can do anything—in Togo…in the world.

In Gbatopé, my host mom prepared every meal for me. Every. Single. Meal. C’est-à-dire, I didn’t cook for myself for 60 days (minus seven days at Post Visit when a married couple cooked for me). Mamasan, my “Mom”, is a pretty good cook. Near the end of Training, if I had only conjured up a flour tortilla at lunchtime and added it to one of Mamasan’s creations…I could have made a burrito. Instead, I closed my eyes and imagined the mysterious spicy red sauce as pico de gallo on top of rice and beans. In Togo, the combination of rice and beans is called watche. When “Mom” gave me this roughly a week before I left Gbatopé, I simply said, “Mom!! This is awesome. Why did you wait until now to give me this?! Are you trying to make me stay, Mamasan?” She laughed—I often couldn’t tell if she found me comical or just a silly foreigner. I focused more on the former to boost my spirits, and of course because it’s true.

Unfortunately, even though “Mom” cooked several divine meals, my body needed time to adjust. In other words, my stomach said, “Culture shock! Welcome!!!” One week into Training, “Mom” had front-row seats to my Vomiting in Africa debut. Yay. Fun. It was unmistakably a difficult time for both of us: Me, for obvious reasons—Diarrhea and vomiting aren’t usually preferred daily activities—and her, for I couldn’t eat anything she made. Poor woman, she certainly tried. Then, tout à coup, she placed a plate of spaghetti with token red sauce in front of me and I consumed all of it. Shortly after I showed her the empty plate, we celebrated…African style. We laughed, we sang, and we danced. It was magical. From that moment on, spaghetti was my “Mom’s” go-to dish. Every day, for at least one meal, I had spaghetti with red sauce. It was hysterical.

What else did “Mom” make?

For breakfast, I ate brouille, a Togolese version of oatmeal. I often had brouille with oats or tapioca mixed with sugar and water. Unfortunately, the tapioca brouille was a bit sweet for me. In addition to oatmeal, Mamasan included about six bananas. Sure, they were slightly smaller than most bananas I purchased in America (fewer hormones). But, they also didn’t last as long; ergo, I had to eat all bananas in 24 hours. The passing out of mini bananas took place every other morning. Certainly got my daily dose of potassium, or decade dose. Thanks Mamasan!

For lunch and dinner, I often had rice with a spicy red sauce similar to one mixed with spaghetti. Aside from the almost Mexican dish, my other favorite meal was rice with la sauce d’arachide (peanut sauce) and chicken. It was delectable. So good. Rice with peanut sauce was the first Togolese dish I made in Dapaong. Occasionally, Mamasan cooked onions, peas and carrots in oil, tasted of pea soup minus the soup. That dish was often served with a whole baguette. My least favorite dish was beans cooked with tomatoes, onions and hot peppers, drenched in palm oil (an oil used frequently), and topped with a dusting of gari, a floury grain.

What do Togolese eat?

Pâte and foufou for Togolese are equivalent to hamburgers and hotdogs for Americans during college football tailgating season. One just can’t survive without either. They are, without a doubt, the two most common dishes in Togo. It’s customary to make pâte out of farine de mais, or corn flour, but for a little variety, rice is also used. Pâte is often served with a sauce—la sauce de tomate (tomato sauce), la sauce d’arachide (peanut sauce), la sauce de gumbo (okra sauce), la sauce d’adèmé (leafy green sauce), etc. It’s rarely served alone. Many Volunteers enjoy pâte rouge, which is essentially pâte mixed with a tomato-based sauce and even some protein. For Togolese, protein, or more specifically meat and fish are expensive. Due to cost, it’s typical to reserve the best and largest section of meat or fish for the head of family (i.e. men). Togolese love pâte. They swear by it. They can and do eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Heck, I’m sure some even dream about it. I have yet to try standard pâte made with corn flour, but I tried it with rice. Christophe, one of my Togolese counterparts, invited me over for lunch with his family one afternoon and it was served with a mystery sauce and goat. Oh yes, and they cooked the entire goat. At one moment, I chewed on a piece of meat and the texture was a bit strange, furry even. Turns out that furry texture was the goat’s stomach lining. Mmmmm, awesome!! But uh, I’ll let you enjoy that part Christophe.

Foufou is another starch made with cassavas or yams boiled and then pounded into a thick, malleable mixture. The doughy ball is also served with a sauce.

What else is different?

• Vegetables and fruits are significantly smaller. Bananas, tomatoes and onions are teeny tiny.
• Oranges are often greenish-yellow.
• The most prevalent cheese in Togo is Vache Qui Rit (Laughing Cow) for it doesn’t need to be refrigerated.
• Soja, or tofu, is surprisingly good here. In my opinion, it’s better in the north, but it’s also prepared differently.
• All juices are very expensive.

Food is a lot fresher here than in the US, however, it also doesn’t last long. It’s imperative to plan meals accordingly to avoid waste of not only food, but also money.

Well, I hope this food entry has provided enough information to answer a few questions and perhaps stir up an appetite. No doubt, more food-related entries to come!

À la prochaine (until next time)… J