Cooking, as well as intergenerational storytelling, is a deeply rooted part of Sierra Leone’s rich heritage. Preparing food and sharing family recipes forges a connection to ancestors, friends and community. But it’s something that’s usually only celebrated at home, with loved ones. If you don’t have a generous auntie to cook you a spicy krain-krain (leaf stew) with smoked fish or foofoo (sticky dough made from fermented, pounded cassava), then good luck trying to get a taste of this intriguing cuisine.
Local favourites include jollof rice with tender beef stew, sweet plantain and binch (black-eyed beans), and groundnut soup, but as younger generations leave the rural provinces for city life and fast food, many of the punchy and complex flavours of the country’s traditional dishes have quietly faded from public view or been forgotten entirely – until now.
Since November 2021, a new restaurant, The Cole Street Guest House, has put Sierra Leone’s ancestral flavours front and centre, creating a buzzing oasis where history and culture meet haute cuisine. It’s the country’s first gourmet restaurant to be dedicated entirely to the nation’s traditional dishes, celebrating the legacy of the country’s 16 ethnic groups (or tribes). But there’s also a special sort of magic at the Cole Street Guest House, where intricate family recipes passed down through generations of mothers and grandmothers are taking the spotlight.
In a small, tiled courtyard in the capital city of Freetown, Chef Miatta Marke skilfully gathers chillies, patmingi (a Sierra Leonean basil) and collard greens for her chopping board from a colourful kitchen garden. She opened Cole Street determined to capture the spirit of her childhood community of Murray Town, which had been led and fed by powerful women who had endured wars, raised families and made history.