By Simon Ngena

ONCE upon a time, Zimbabwe’s culinary landscape was dominated by the so-called ‘ethnic’ restaurants specialising in exotic menus, mostly from Europe and the Far East. A casual stroll around town (here, read Harare) or the suburban shopping centres yielded such names as the Bombay Duck, Da Guido’s, The Sirtar Restaurant, Coimbra, Le Parisien, Fernando’s, The Manchurian, Pagoda, Mokador, Mandarin Restaurant, Curry Hut, etc.

There, the discerning diner was treated to anything from the hottest Indian curry, Italian pizza or macaroni, never mind snails if one fancied French cuisine. If you, like this writer, wanted sadza with vegetables, road runner, guru or matumbu, the age-old Haifiridzi or gochi-gochi, one had to drive all the way to the periphery of town, such as kwaMereki, Zindoga, Machipisa, Mutangadura, Cresta Mbare, kwaPattis or kwaZiko, etc. Of course, sadza was often available in downtown Harare, and was inevitably served with a fork and knife, in violation of the unwritten 11^th Commandment, “Thou shalt eat sadza with your bare hands”.

Yes, in Zimbabwe it is customary to eat sadza with our washed bare hands for which a dish or running water is a must. Anything to the contrary is considered sacrilege.  Now all this is becoming a thing of the past, as Western dishes or those from the Orient are gradually being replaced by typical Zimbabwean traditional dishes, some of which have already been featured in this column. Not surprisingly, over the years we have seen the mushrooming of eateries offering exclusively indigenous meals not only in former whites-only suburbs but also right in the Central Business District (CBD). Even the five-star hotels now offer traditional-themed meals on selected days of the week. We now even have in-house hotel restaurants with names such as Kombahari, denoting people sitting around a cooking pot.

 This ongoing culinary revolution culminated in Zimbabwe hosting the maiden UN Tourism Regional Forum on Gastronomy Tourism for Africa in the resort town of Victoria Falls from 26-28 July 2024. And the driving force behind this silent revolution is none other than First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa, whose untiring efforts in promoting the country’s tourism brand through her countrywide cookout competitions has not gone unnoticed.

Amai Mnangagwa, who is also the country’s patron for hospitality and industry, embarked on her gastronomy tourism journey in 2019 when she invited traditional chiefs’ wives to State House where she handed over traditional grains and vegetable seed packs for distribution to rural women.

Once the crops were harvested, the Mother of the Nation,as the First Lady is affectionately known, launched cookout competitions for rural women for them to learn how to prepare indigenous dishes, starting with the spouses of chiefs and village headmen.

The programme was subsequently escalated to ward, district, national, regional and international levels, culminating in the First UN Tourism Forum on Gastronomy for Africa in honour of her sterling work.

The historic event saw the world tourism body awarding 100 scholarships to President Emmerson Mnangagwa for Zimbabwean students to study culinary arts while a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Zimbabwe and UN Tourism to build the Africa International Tourism Academy for Culinary Arts in Victoria Falls.

Amai Mnangagwa also secured 100 culinary scholarships for local students from the then UNTWO.

The Victoria Falls food and tourism indaba set the tone for the Second UN Tourism Regional Forum on Gastronomy Tourism for Africa held in Arusha, Tanzania, from 23-25 April, 2025.

In her keynote speech at the forum, Dr Mnangagwa reminded delegates that gastronomy tourism was now recognised as a catalyst for economic development and community empowerment, as well as a pillar for poverty alleviation. 

“It is characterised by job creation, income generation and fostering strategic partnerships along the value chain, thereby building a robust economic ecosystem in our societies. In addition, gastronomy tourism is a vital cog for inclusive growth, presenting a unique opportunity to promote sustainable development, preserve cultural heritage, and empower local communities across the continents.”

The Mother of the Nation also used the platform to chronicle her culinary journey, which started way back in 2019 inspired by the need to promote a healthy lifestyle.

Said Amai Mnangagwa: “The shift from organic, traditional foods to fast food consumption was not only contributing to a rise in diet-related ailments but also threatening our rich culinary heritage. This legacy, passed down by our forefathers, is a vital part of our identity and must be preserved and celebrated for future generations.

“In view of this, I then rolled out traditional cookout competitions in all the country’s 10 provinces in Zimbabwe. When the programme started, it was mainly female-dominated, but today males, churches, chiefs’ wives, students, universities, inmates, people with disabilities, hotels and restaurant chefs have joined the race, demonstrating their ability to prepare amazing dishes,” she said. 

The programme, the First Lady said, was then elevated to SADC regional gastronomy tourism competitions in May 2023 during which various countries showcased their staple dishes. 

“The competitions presented an opportunity for participants to share their knowledge and expertise in preparing traditional dishes and yearly we witnessed improved innovative ways of preparing nutritious dishes among our participants,” she noted, adding:

“Most of our hotels and restaurants are now serving local cuisine, alongside the Western meals providing a wide variety to customers. The communities are the main primary suppliers of traditional ingredients and have become a source of income generation to them. This contributes significantly to our national vision of attaining an upper middle-income society by 2030.” 

“Ladies and gentlemen, to ensure the sustainability of the gastronomy tourism programme in Zimbabwe, I have introduced Agric4She programme, where we are encouraging women and youths to grow traditional grains and venture into projects thereby providing key ingredients for preparing Zimbabwean dishes.

“Additionally, I introduced the farm-to-market programme where I have encouraged communities and farmers to participate in showcasing a variety of products from their fields. The cookout programme is in line with our philosophy to promote heritage-based tourism where we encourage our people to safeguard jealously our culture and traditions.

“In this regard, I introduced a programme for boys and girls called Nhanga/Gota/Ixhiba forum, where trainings are centred on encouraging youths to uphold their cultural norms and values. This seeks to complement the cookout programme, particularly in instilling the concept at a tender age and to overcome drug and substance abuse which has become rampant among our youths,” she said.

Zimbabwe, the First Lady said,  had taken gastronomy tourism as a pillar for socio-economic development and had received significant support from Government.

“As a result, we have witnessed the growth of the tourism sector contributing 12 percent to the Gross Domestic Tourism Product (GDTP) in 2024. For the first time, it has surpassed key economic sectors like agriculture and mining.

“Ladies and gentlemen, with Zimbabwe and Tanzania hosting the UN Tourism regional forum on gastronomy tourism for Africa, we are happy indeed that, the forum is now on UN Tourism calendar as an annual event hosted by African countries on a rotational basis. With the support that we are getting from UN Tourism, it is our hope that Africa will be a gastronomy tourism hub where we showcase the taste of Africa to the whole world,” Amai Mnangagwa said. 

Delivering his vote of thanks, UN Tourism Secretary-General Mr Pololikashvili described Amai Mnangagwa as the “godmother of gastronomy tourism. She created a new page in the history of tourism in Africa and I am very honoured and very pleased to be a part of this history . . .”

“After 10, 20, 30 years, we will see the people start talking about African food. We are talking about a 1,5 billion population, about 54 countries with diverse different cultures. Unfortunately, African culture is not as well presented outside of the continent. And we are committed and we will continue this series of activities. And that’s why this conference is important,” he said.

THIS WEEK’S RECIPES

Maguru (Tripe)

Maguru  (tripe) are among Zimbabwe’s most popular traditional foods, which is considered a delicacy. It is one of those dishes that this writer has fond memories, since beef (in its proper sense) was beyond our parents’ reach in colonial Rhodesia. In fact, I’m reliably informed that beef offals were often offered for free to any African who managed the rare feat of buying beef over the counter.

For the record, maguru have long been traditionally something that many Zimbabweans particularly in rural areas look forward to whenever a beast is communally or privately slaughtered.

Ingredients

• 500g maguru (tripe)
• 1/2 onion (chopped)
• 1 1/2 tomatoes (chopped)
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 tsp fresh ginger (minced)
• 1 tbs  soup powder
• 1 litre water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp  tomato sauce
• 1 tsp curry powder
• Oil for frying

Cooking Instructions

It’s important that you wash your maguru THOROUGHLY in warm water and trim off any excess fat so that in the end you will not have any fat emulsifying (kugwamba) both in the pot or in your plate on the dinner table.

1. First as already mentioned wash your tripe in warm water and trim-off excess fat. Cut tripe into good size pieces and put into pot. Add water and salt. Partly cover and bring to the boil. Once it has boiled reduce heat to the lowest mark on your stove, cover pot completely and let it simmer overnight or for seven and half hours.
2. When the water is finished, add garlic and ginger, add frying oil and stir. Add your spices and stir; then add tomatoes and stir.
3. Add  tomato sauce and stir. Give time for the tomatoes to get done (at least two minutes). When tomatoes are done, add  soup powder and pour cold water directly into the soup powder to avoid it lumping-up. Cover pot and let simmer for five minutes.
4. After five minutes your maguru are done.

Alternatively, you can try the following:

Maguru nematumbu (Beef Tripe and Intestines Stew)

Ingredients

• 1 kg beef tripe and intestines
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 chopped onion
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1/2 green pepper
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Boil the tripe and intestines in water until tender. This may take anywhere from two to four hours. Remove from saucepan and set aside.

• Add oil to the sauce pan and add onion. Saute for about one minute and then add peppers. Add tomatoes and pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for about five minutes and add back the tripe and intestines. Cook on low for about 10 minutes.
• Serve hot with sadza or rice and vegetables.