Yollande Tchouapi isn’t interested in being a gatekeeper to African cuisine. She believes that treating curried beef, Moroccan duck stew, and jollof rice as exclusive to chefs from these cultures is not building bridges.
“By allowing someone to meet you where you are and share your knowledge, you build bridges,” says Choapi, a Milwaukee-area chef, entrepreneur, and community organizer. “Give them a safe space to cook with you, no matter what their expression is, without being judged for putting us on the back burner or being called ‘cultural appropriation.’
“My job is to spread knowledge about this culture and cuisine,” she added. “The only way to do that is when you open the door.”
Ubuntu MKE held an “Immersive Workshop: East and West African Cuisine” on October 20th at Mount Mary University in Milwaukee. This is one of several events ahead of the Flavors of Africa Gala on November 10th.
Lila Aryan
Choapi has recruited chefs from Milwaukee, Madison and beyond for the event, which will be held at the Milwaukee Athletic Club on Sunday, Nov. 10. It’s a big event spread over three floors and has a long name: Flavors of Africa + Diaspora Wisconsin: Gala + Best Chef Competition.
Guests participate in the immersive workshop “East African Cuisine Meets West African Cuisine” held recently at Mount Mary University in Milwaukee.
Provided by Yolando Chuapi
The approximately 40 participating chefs include Awa Sibi, who opened Les Delices de Awa on Madison’s east side earlier this year. “Top Chef” finalist Dan Jacobs will represent Esterev with oxtail and yucca. Justin Carlisle, owner of Ardent, a business in downtown Madison, makes a Nigerian soup called nkubi, which is made with oxtail and shank.
Choapi said each chef will create an African, African-inspired, Caribbean or Gullah cuisine.
“My friend Adam Pawlak, he was on ‘Bobby Flay,’ he’s an Italian-trained chef,” said Choapi, chef and owner of Egg and Flower Pasta Bar. mentioned. “He’s cooking African food. We’ve got Sanford, we’ve got Justin (an Aprahamian), we’re cooking Ethiopian and Nigerian that day. That’s serious. That’s a big deal.”
Ubuntu MKE held “Immersive Workshop: East Meets West African Cuisine” on October 20th at Mount Mary University in Milwaukee.
Provided by Yolando Chuapi
Tickets for the event, which will be held from 3 to 7 p.m., start at $250 for a general admission “Safari Passport,” with discounts for students, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities and “community leaders.” VIP tickets ($500) get you in one hour early. For an additional $100 donation, participants can attend a meet-and-greet. One of Choapi’s guests will be James Beard Award-winning author Michael Twitty (“The Cooking Gene,” “Koshersoul”).
Senegalese chef and author Pierre Thiam and Edoardo Jourdan, a former June Baby and current chef at Seattle’s Food with Roots, will serve as judges for the chef competition. Both have won James Beard Awards.
Choapi, who works as a vice president at Johnson Controls, said he has “zero experience” in event planning. She said she envisioned the event as “like a 12 station,” but the event grew because chefs heard about it and wanted to be a part of it. The event currently includes an African Queen fashion show, live music from Central African performers, and tribal dance.
“Think about gallery nights traveling from one station to the next,” she said. “The idea is to help people reach 40 stations by the end.”
Vendors cooked a variety of African dishes during a recent hands-on workshop at Mount Mary University.
Provided by Yolando Chuapi
“We’re all learning.”
The Flavors of Africa gala was featured in an early article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel a few months ago. This article explores this new event and Choapi’s work with presenting sponsor Ubuntu, a Wisconsin nonprofit dedicated to building “more inclusive, diverse, and equitable food communities.” sounds like a continuation of his previous work as a chef and restaurant owner.
Choapi focused on inclusivity and access at Irie Zulu, an Afro-Jamaican restaurant she opened in 2015. The store closed in 2019 due to “personal life-altering circumstances.”
“It was a restaurant with a story,” she said. “It was packed. I had a rotating menu featuring flavors of the East, flavors of the North, flavors of the West, and flavors of Madagascar.”
Choapi is from Cameroon in Central Africa and calls herself the “queen mother of the peasant tribes.” She studied sociology and anthropology as an undergraduate and earned her MBA from Marquette University in 2003.
Yolande Choapi (right) organized the Flavors of Africa Gala on Nov. 10 at the Milwaukee Athletic Club.
Lila Aryan
In addition to Irie Zulu, Tchouapi has started a food line called Afro-Fusion Cuisine. She is a teacher and community organizer.
Prior to the Flavors of Africa event, Ubuntu has hosted a series of immersive workshops. One was a trip to Alice Gardens, which connects to the Wisconsin Metro. Another, held at Mount Mary University on Oct. 20, was called “East Meets West African Cuisine.”
“What I tell you at every event is the gut feeling you have: ‘Oh my god, this is my first time going here and I don’t know much about the culture.’ Trust me. ” she said. “I don’t even know the people who are organizing the events. We’re all learning.”
At a recent immersive workshop at Mount Mary University in Milwaukee, chefs created dishes inspired by Tanzania, Ghana, Ethiopia, and Senegal.
Provided by Yolando Chuapi
She is excited to meet native Africans (who “never go out”) at events that are normally “filled with white people.” She challenged them to learn about their African American neighbors and build those bridges stronger.
“I see the work I do as a catalyst for change,” Choapi said. “This is a recognition of the vacuum that has existed and the constructive work that needs to continue moving forward. It’s here now. As members of the Wisconsin community, how can we continue to grow stronger as a state?” Can I do it?”
This is where food comes into play, Choapi said. Unity is “sealed around the meal,” she says. Flavors of Africa’s featured chefs include some of Milwaukee’s top chefs, including Dane Baldwin of The Diplomat, Gregory Leon of Amirinda, Kyle Knoll of Birch, and Karen Bell of Babette La Boucherie.
She believes she can provide a grant to get most of it to Madison next year. She plans to move the event to the nation’s capital next year with the help of additional sponsors and tourism boards such as Destination Madison and Travel Wisconsin.
“When I think about the next frontier in food, I think it’s African and diaspora cuisine,” she said. “People are so ready.”
