In the restaurants and small eateries of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, cooks prepare sadza, sorghum, beef head, and locally raised chicken. These establishments, which offer traditional cuisine, are attracting a growing number of customers looking for healthier, locally sourced meals.
With both hands gripping a large wooden spoon, a woman stirs a thick porridge of maize semolina — Zimbabwe's staple food, known as "sadza" — over an open fire, while beside her, a three-legged pot filled with sorghum bubbles.
A few steps away, men are skinning a bull's head while others are cutting tomatoes and sorting hot peppers for the sauce, in a flurry of preparations.
This is the daily ritual of Siphatisiwe Ncube's street food stall in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second largest city, where a growing number of customers are turning to traditional grains such as millet and sorghum, attracted by their nutritional value.
The city is experiencing an increase in the number of traditional restaurants, reflecting a more general shift in the eating habits of local consumers, which is moving away from more processed foods, said Makhosi Mahlangu, a food scientist and lecturer.
"Five years ago, you could have named fewer than ten traditional restaurants (in Bulawayo) ," he told AFP, adding that today, around thirty establishments offer local dishes, which are not necessarily cheaper than fast food.
Nutritionists have warned that in Zimbabwe, the abandonment of traditional grains, pulses and leafy vegetables has fueled persistent deficiencies in essential micronutrients such as iron, zinc and vitamin A.
At the nearby Kwesintu restaurant, manager Taurai Gona indicated that more and more people were becoming aware of what they were eating.
"People are starting to understand that prevention is better than cure. Why not focus on healthy eating?" , he said.
Scientists say that one in five deaths worldwide is linked to poor diet, as fast food and ultra-processed foods gradually replace traditional diets in much of the world.
According to the World Health Organization, unhealthy diets are among the leading factors in obesity, diabetes, stroke, and other non-communicable diseases.
A trend driven by nostalgia
"I grew up cooking for my brothers," Siphatisiwe Ncube, 49, told AFP, recalling that they preferred boiled dishes, according to the traditional method, to fried dishes.
This preference has shaped the culinary style that has become the hallmark of his street food stall, which opened 15 years ago and now employs more than a dozen full-time staff.
"We only cook traditional dishes ," she said.
His restaurant serves dishes such as locally raised, boiled chicken and fine-grained sadza for five dollars, attracting a steady stream of customers.
Among them are Zimbabweans who have returned from South Africa or Great Britain, where it is almost impossible to find traditional Zimbabwean dishes.
Former Miss Zimbabwe, Nomusa Ndiweni-Emiyoit, said she developed a craving for traditional cuisine while abroad in Britain and France.
"What frustrated me at the time was that Ghanaians, Nigerians, and Cameroonians all had access to their kitchens ," she said.
While traditional cuisine has become a trend again, local restaurateurs now hope to make it known beyond the borders of Zimbabwe.
