Jainaba Jeng wants to take you on a culinary journey to Africa—and you’ll never have to leave the comfort of your own home. Originally from the Gambia, Jeng created Kitchens of Africa, a collection of easy-to-use, all-natural sauces and marinades that allow home chefs to explore the bold, delectable flavors of that diverse continent.
“I would like to think of myself as an ambassador of my cultural food, bridging the gap between what most people perceive African food to be, and exposing them to the sophistication, depth, and range of the cuisine,” says Jeng, who originally left the Gambia to obtain a college degree in Canada.
After a coup back home made it unsafe for her to return after graduation, she moved near relatives in Raleigh, North Carolina. As she settled in, Jeng began exploring the range of global foods available there—Thai, Mexican, Indian—and tried her hand at replicating dishes at home with “shortcut” sauces she found in specialty markets. All the while she longed for the comforting foods of Africa—of home.
With a full-time job working for the U.S. Department of Justice, Jeng found it hard to make the time to source the elusive ingredients (or the hours for simmering) needed to cook the dishes from her childhood. She thought: If people from other countries can package their cultural cuisines in a jar and share them with the world, why can’t I? And with that, Kitchens of Africa was born.
Oprah was drawn to beautifully designed labels of Kitchens of Africa. Once she tasted the spicy blends and seasoned sauces, it was a done deal. Above, watch as Oprah surprises Jeng with the news that a Kitchens of Africa set is one of her Favorite Things. Read on to see Jeng’s take on experience, and how she developed her beloved sauces.
Africa is a big place with many countries and cultures. How did you choose these specific sauces?
This collection is a curation of my favorite dishes that I frequently cook in my home kitchen for myself, family, and friends. Not every one of my favorites can be reimagined as a shelf-stable product, so I focused on replicating iconic, classic regional dishes that I can do justice to, taking special care not to tame the flavors just to appeal to unfamiliar palates. The point is for the masses here in America to learn what tastes Africa can offer. The litmus test is always this: If my family and I don’t lick our plates clean, then the sauce or condiment does not make the cut.
Has cooking always been a passion?
Yes. My entire family is passionate about cooking and food. We live and breathe food, so it comes pretty natural to me—and I really, really love to eat. I learned to cook by watching my mom and sisters cook in their Gambian kitchens. This is a rite of passage for most young women growing up on the continent. Nobody uses a cookbook. All the recipes are memorized. So that’s also been part of the process for me, turning these memorized recipes into something concrete and written down.
What do you hope happens when someone tries one of your creations?
I want people who have never had a chance to try the cuisine or have never visited Africa to taste the unadulterated flavors via our sauce and spice range. And with that, I hope to elevate African food’s status from relatively unknown to mainstream consciousness.
For those who have never been to Africa or had the chance to try its flavors, how would you describe them?
There’s nothing bland about African cooking. We like to heap on the flavor, and in our cuisine, slow food equals good food. That’s how we create layers of earthy, bold flavors with hints of fiery undertones. This is the essence of African cooking. At Kitchens of Africa, all of our cooking sauces are generously seasoned to create different flavor profiles: spicy, tangy, sweet, pungent and bitter. Sometimes it takes years of tinkering a recipe to get it right. As a perfectionist, I’m always looking for tiny ways to elevate and improve each individual flavor profile.
We are featuring your East Meets West collection. Can you describe the various flavors and how one might use them?
Our East Meets West gift box takes you on a gastronomic food crawl starting off in Zanzibar and ending in Senegal, in West Africa. The Zanzibar simmer sauce is a coconut curry spiced with cinnamon and chiles—it goes great in a chickpea stew. Mombasa is a tamarind sauce that works wonderfully as a stir-fry sauce for noodles. Maffé, our bestseller, is the national dish of Gambia, and is made from peanut butter and habanero chiles. We typically cook it over chicken breast. And then Yassa is an onion sauce that pairs perfectly with seafood. My Yassa is very much a mix of Senegalese and Gambian flavors, and if I do say so myself, it’s irresistible.
Do you have a favorite product?
I really love all of them, but if I had to choose, I’d say Yassa. Actually, my family teases me and calls me “Yassa Queen.” I just think the flavors are explosive and complement pretty much anything. It’s also part of one of the most beloved and iconic dishes from West Africa.
What has surprised you since you started this journey?
Meeting Oprah! I got goosebumps when she popped into the video call that I was having with Gayle and Adam. And then I saw she was holding the product I had created from my heart! I’m still chuffed. I had worked really hard to create a luxurious and beautiful gift box, hoping that it would get Oprah’s attention. My hard work paid off. It was like winning an Oscar. I’m still in awe.
When not eating something infused with African flavors, what do you choose?
Well, I’ve recently been making a lot of Mexican-inspired steak tacos—but seasoned with my African jerk-paste marinade!
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