A Hospitality Marketing expert, Dr. Mrs. Alberta Bondzi-Simpson, has released an indigenous Ghanaian recipe book.
The book, titled Serving Ghana, contains over 70 everyday Ghanaian recipes with step-by-step cooking instructions.
Dr. Bondzi-Simpson shared with the Citi Breakfast Show team how the idea to write a solely indigenous Ghanaian recipe book was conceptualized.
“The idea came up when I visited a hotel in Tamale about 11 years ago. When we got to the hotel, we requested Ayoyo Soup and Guinea fowl with Tuo Zaafi. We were told that for us to get the staple, we needed to have made a 24-hour reservation so that they could prepare ahead of time. I said to myself, but we can’t come all the way from the south and eat fried rice. I then said to myself something needs to be done about this. We need to capture our food in the hospitality sector.”
“I then had to do a focus group discussion. Of the many ethnic groups, we went to about 13 ethnic groups to look for opinion leaders who are women, paid them to buy the ingredients, and prepare the food in our presence for us to see what it is like and why it’s eaten. I then did my Ph.D. just to find out from the chefs in the various regions why they do not serve their indigenous dishes.”
“Their responses were very interesting, one of them said customers prefer international to local dishes. One of their major challenges was that the chefs they hired did not know how to prepare the local dishes.”
She indicated that the idea to write the book was conceptualised in 2016, “the execution of it however was in 2020 during the lockdown.”
The book is available at the Legon and EPP bookshops. It can also be accessed online on booknook.store. Alternatively, you can call 0203227780.
About the Author
Dr. Mrs. Alberta Bondzi-Simpson was formerly a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management of the University of Cape Coast.
She is now the Vice-Dean of the Distance School and a Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School, and a Governing Council Member of the Dr. Hilla Limann Technical University.
She was once the Key Accounts Representative of Nestle Ghana Ltd, the Manager of Sasakawa Guest Center, and an instructor of the Cape Coast Technical University.
She holds a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Hospitality Management, a researched Master’s degree in Business Administration (Marketing option), and a Bachelors of Management Studies with Honours, all from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana.
She also holds two City and Guilds Certificate in Cookery for the Catering industry and a Higher National Diploma in Hotel Catering and Institutional Management from the Takoradi Technical University.