When Ugandans crave traditional food, they rarely have to look far. There is always a favourite kafunda, a ‘Mama Something’ or a small restaurant known for serving steaming plates of luwombo, matoke, malakwang or malewa. These neighbourhood eateries attract loyal customers, including government officials, who return for familiar flavours and generous portions.
Ugandans are willing to pay for good food. What matters is whether they feel they have received value for their money.
But while traditional dishes remain popular at home and in local restaurants, Chef Aaron Okiria is asking a bigger question: why has Uganda failed to take its food to the world?
‘Why are we not pushing our own food into international markets? We have a responsibility to our grandchildren because our traditional foods are disappearing. Uganda has some of the best food, yet we do not see it in Italy, India or China in the way we see other African cuisines. KFC, burgers and pizzas are not our traditional foods,’ he says.
Okiria, one of the young Ugandan chefs selected to cook for Queen Elizabeth II during the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), believes the country has dishes that could compete internationally if they were deliberately developed and promoted.
Uganda boasts a rich culinary heritage, ranging from luwombo, malakwang and malewa to matoke, millet-based dishes and groundnut sauces. Prepared using locally available ingredients and recipes passed down through generations, these foods tell stories about the country’s culture, communities and way of life.
For Okiria, the challenge is to make these dishes recognisable beyond Uganda’s borders.
‘Why can’t someone in Italy say, ‘I want luwombo today’? Why can’t someone who has never been to Uganda know malakwang or malewa? We have nutritious food grown here, and our dishes have stories behind them. The question is: how do we package those stories and take them to the world?’ he asks.
He traces part of the problem to the history of the hospitality industry in East Africa, arguing that local culinary knowledge was not given the same prominence as foreign cooking traditions.
‘When Europeans came to East Africa and established hotels, they brought in expatriates and hired local people. They taught them their ways, but did not give them the same opportunity to teach them ours,’ he says.
In his view, Uganda’s problem is not a shortage of traditional dishes but a failure to develop them into products that people can experience, appreciate and pay for in formal markets.
‘Our local food was not pushed into market spaces where people could exchange value: you serve me a plate of food, and I pay you for it,’ he says.
This is where African gastronomy comes in, according to Okiria. He sees it as a way of reclaiming traditional ingredients, cooking methods and food cultures while presenting them in ways that appeal to contemporary consumers.
‘What we want to say through African gastronomy is that we should revive the authenticity of the traditional, organic staples we once appreciated,’ he says.
African gastronomy, he explains, goes beyond what is served on a plate. It encompasses the ingredients, preparation methods, presentation and cultural traditions associated with food.
Preserving these traditions is particularly important as younger generations risk losing touch with dishes their parents and grandparents grew up eating.
‘Sometimes, you need to sit down and ask yourself: when was the last time I ate that dish I used to enjoy when I was young?’ he says.
For Okiria, protecting culinary heritage also means preserving the techniques that give traditional foods their distinctive flavours. Some dishes depend on particular cooking methods, types of fuel or banana leaves to achieve their familiar taste and aroma.
‘You cannot simply use gas and expect to get the same effect. Sometimes, you have to light a fire using dry shrubs and use a particular quality of banana leaf,’ he says.
He believes such practices are part of what makes African cuisine distinctive and should not be abandoned in the pursuit of modern cooking methods.
Documenting the recipes
While preserving traditional cooking techniques is important, Okiria believes Uganda must also document its recipes if local dishes are to gain wider recognition.
Many traditional recipes are still passed down orally, with cooks relying on experience and instinct rather than written measurements or standardised preparation methods.
‘Our biggest problem is that much of our food still exists only in people’s heads. The grandmother knows how to prepare it, and the mother knows how to prepare it, but where is the documented recipe? Where are the measurements? Where is the process that another chef in another country can follow?’ he asks.
To address this gap, Okiria wants chefs, researchers and food enthusiasts to travel across Uganda documenting traditional dishes and the knowledge surrounding them.
The exercise, he says, should capture ingredients, measurements, preparation methods, preservation techniques and serving traditions. Such documentation would make it easier for culinary schools, hotels and chefs abroad to reproduce the dishes consistently without losing their identity.
He believes traditional recipes can be presented creatively to appeal to modern diners while retaining their essential character.
‘The presentation can change. You can put the food on a fine-dining plate, make it beautiful and modern, but the recipe and identity should not disappear. The main change should be in the presentation,’ he says.
Documentation alone, however, will not be enough. Okiria also wants hotels to include more Ugandan dishes on their menus and culinary schools to teach local cuisine alongside international cooking techniques.
Such changes, he argues, would help young chefs appreciate their culinary heritage while giving Ugandan food greater visibility in the hospitality industry.
Food and tourism
Beyond restaurants and culinary schools, Okiria sees food as an important part of Uganda’s tourism offering.
Different regions have distinctive ingredients, dishes and preparation methods. He believes these regional differences could become attractions in their own right, encouraging visitors to sample local cuisine as they travel around the country.
Food, in this sense, would offer tourists more than a meal. It would provide an opportunity to experience Uganda’s cultural diversity through its ingredients, cooking traditions and hospitality.
Okiria recalls an experience in Dubai where Ugandan food was served at a buffet. Ugandans attending the event gravitated towards familiar dishes, including matoke and traditional sauces.
The experience reinforced his belief that local food has an appeal that Ugandans themselves should recognise and promote.
‘If we do not value our own food, why would someone in another country value it? We have to start by believing that what we have is worth sharing. Then we document it, teach it, cook it properly, present it well and tell its story,’ he says.
For Okiria, this is how Uganda can begin to build a stronger culinary identity: by treating its food not merely as something people eat at home, but as part of its cultural heritage, hospitality industry and tourism economy.
The call that took him to the Queen’s kitchen
Okiria’s own culinary journey has included opportunities that helped shape his career, none more memorable than being selected to cook for Queen Elizabeth II during CHOGM in 2007.
It began on an ordinary Tuesday afternoon. He was at home preparing for his shift when a friend called with news that would become one of the defining moments of his professional life.
At the time, Uganda was preparing to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, and preparations were underway to select chefs who would prepare and serve meals to the Queen and her delegation.
‘I was at home preparing for my shift on a Tuesday afternoon when a friend called to tell me about a list being compiled after rumours that the Queen had confirmed her visit to Uganda. Several chefs were being selected to prepare and serve meals for her and her delegation, and my name was on the list,’ Okiria recalls.
The executive chef at the time, John Macharia, selected a team to serve the delegation, and Okiria was fortunate to be among those chosen.
‘Chef John Macharia selected a team to serve the delegation, and I was blessed to be part of that team early in my career. At first, it seemed like an ordinary assignment, but I soon realised how much everything would change because of this opportunity. It was a privilege and a turning point in my career. The pressure was immense, and the standards of excellence were exceptionally high,’ he says.
For a young chef still establishing himself, the assignment was far more than another day at work. It meant joining a team entrusted with preparing meals for one of the world’s most recognisable figures and her delegation during a major international gathering.
As preparations progressed, the magnitude of the responsibility became clearer. The expectations were high, leaving little room for mistakes. Every team member had to understand the importance of the assignment and deliver to the required standards.
Behind the scenes, the work demanded concentration, teamwork and attention to detail. It was an experience that tested Okiria’s abilities while teaching him valuable lessons about discipline and excellence in professional kitchens.
Yet, alongside the pressure was the privilege of contributing to an important moment in Uganda’s hosting of CHOGM. What had begun with a friend’s phone call had become an opportunity to serve distinguished guests at a major international event.
Looking back, Okiria remembers how an ordinary afternoon turned into a career-defining moment. The selection by Macharia gave him an experience he would carry with him long after the event.
‘Life-changing opportunities do not always arrive with grand announcements. Sometimes, they come through a simple phone call while you are at home preparing for an ordinary shift,’ he says.
Life with a chef
Okiria’s passion for local food extends beyond his professional life. His wife, Lynn Christine Okiria, the managing director of Seven Star Culinary Institute, says their shared appreciation for traditional dishes is rooted in their upbringing.
She says she grew up preparing local foods, making it easy for her to appreciate her husband’s preference for traditional cuisine.
‘He prefers local foods, and we were raised preparing such foods. Sometimes, you might think that because I was raised in a good family, I would prefer something different, but I also grew up with these dishes,’ Christine says.
Her experience has also informed her work in culinary education. She says the idea for Seven Star Culinary Institute grew partly out of the demand surrounding her husband’s work as a chef and the gaps they identified in Uganda’s culinary industry.
‘There was a need. My husband is a chef; I am not. But many people approached him asking for parcels,’ she says, referring to requests for portions of his food or culinary services.
That demand, she explains, was one of the factors that encouraged the couple to establish the institute.
She believes the school can help address practical gaps in the industry by equipping learners with relevant culinary skills and responding to the needs of Uganda’s hospitality sector.
‘Not that I am throwing shade at other schools, but I think Seven Star is among the institutes in Uganda addressing some of the real gaps in the industry,’ she says.
For the couple, their work reflects a shared interest in food, culinary training and the opportunities available in Uganda’s hospitality industry. While Okiria advocates for greater recognition of traditional cuisine, Christine’s work in culinary education offers another avenue through which local food knowledge and professional skills can be developed.
Together, their efforts point to a broader ambition: building an industry in which Ugandan food is valued at home, taught in professional kitchens and increasingly recognised beyond the country’s borders.