CANADA: Chef Chirisa brings African cuisine to Emancipation Day event

By woodstocksentinelreview.com

With a slate of speakers and entertainment, Emancipation Day celebrations brought in visitors from near and far to Dresden.

The Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History, formerly known as Uncle Tom’s Cabin, also marked the first anniversary of its name change during the weekend event.

The museum is owned and operated by the Ontario Heritage Trust.

The event, which commemorates the end of slavery in the British Empire, featured music from London Gospel Collective and Motown Boys.

With food being this year’s theme, organisers said they wanted to go traditional with their offerings.

Patience Chirisa, a Toronto-based chef, was on hand to give a demonstration and taste-testing of African sausage and chakalaka, the latter being a mix of various vegetables and spices.

Originally from Zimbabwe, she has been in Canada for more than two decades.

“I’ve volunteered at different types of African restaurants to learn the techniques,” she said, noting the wide variety of cuisines among the different countries.

Chirisa encouraged people not to be intimidated, urging them to give it a try in their own kitchens.

“A lot of people have the misconception that it’s complicated,” she said. “It’s really not.”