AFSA to Host First Pan-African Chefs Gathering to Champion Indigenous Cuisine and Food Sovereignty
At a time when industrialised diets and fast food are eroding Africa’s culinary heritage and fueling a crisis of malnutrition and environmental degradation, this gathering seeks to reclaim the future through the wisdom of the past
KAMPALA, July 18, 2025 –The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa [ AFSA ] is to hold the continent’s first African Chefs Gathering and policy convening on African food systems, taking place in Addis Ababa from July 23–25, 2025. Organised under the banner of “My Food Is African”, AFSA’s flagship Pan-African campaign, the event marks a groundbreaking moment to spotlight traditional African cuisine as a catalyst for cultural revival, public health, and ecological sustainability.
At a time when industrialised diets and fast food are eroding Africa’s culinary heritage and fueling a crisis of malnutrition and environmental degradation, this gathering seeks to reclaim the future through the wisdom of the past.
“This is a defining moment,” said Hakim Baliraine, Chair of AFSA. “Chefs, like farmers, are custodians of memory and innovation. Through this gathering, we are bridging the kitchen and the soil to reclaim our sovereignty, health, culture, and climate resilience.”
Chefs from more than 20 African countries will showcase indigenous ingredients, prepare traditional dishes, and work side by side with farmers, policymakers, and food activists to co-create a shared vision for African food sovereignty.
“This is more than a culinary event, it is a political act,” said Dr. Million Belay, AFSA’s General Coordinator. “When chefs prepare indigenous dishes with agroecological ingredients, they are not just cooking food, they are reviving identity, resisting industrialised diets, and healing both people and the planet.”
For AFSA, this event is more than a celebration, it is a strategic intervention in the fight for food sovereignty. The “My Food Is African” campaign, launched in 2022, is a Pan-African movement to reconnect communities with indigenous food systems, resist the corporate takeover of African diets, and amplify the voices of farmers, cooks, women, and youth.
“The My Food Is African campaign has always been about more than what’s on our plates, it’s about reclaiming our power to choose what nourishes us, culturally and nutritionally,” said Bridget Mugambe, AFSA Programmes Coordinator. “This chefs’ gathering is the campaign coming to life, a living expression of African food systems led by those who cook, create, and connect communities across the continent.”
At the culmination of the gathering, chefs, policymakers, and food system actors are expected to converge around a shared vision and forge a collective voice, strategic direction, and joint commitment. Through rich dialogue and deliberation, they aim to identify key areas for collaboration and policy influence that can shift the dominant industrial food narrative and ignite a continent-wide transition toward just, sustainable, culturally appropriate and resilient food systems rooted in agroecology.
“This gathering is not just a culinary celebration, it is a continental call to action,” said Andrew Adem, AFSA Food Systems Coordinator. “It places our chefs at the heart of the food sovereignty movement, not only as guardians of taste but as storytellers, educators, and cultural warriors. Through them, we are reclaiming our kitchens, reconnecting with our farms, and reimagining a future where African food nourishes our bodies, preserves our identity, and restores the dignity of our food systems.”
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