A Nigerian chef will be sharing the secrets of the country’s cuisine at a pop-up event during Birchfield Jazz Festival in Birmingham.
Kingsley Chukwuemeka Ihedioha will be preparing dishes for visitors to sample at the event, part of a city-wide food festival being organised by Communities Engage and Thrive, supported by Birmingham City Council.
The event on Saturday, July 23, is the third of 10 being held across the city, each one focusing on a different Commonwealth country, to celebrate its vibrant diversity.
As well as sampling the food cooked by Kingsley, from Birmingham-based Glorious Catering & Restaurant, visitors will be able to take away herbs, spices and recipe cards to recreate the healthy dishes at home.
Organiser Parveen Talwar, founder and director of CET, a community interest company based in Birmingham, said:
“Birchfield Jazz Festival is such a high-profile event on the Birmingham social calendar, we are thrilled to be taking part. Our aim is to celebrate the diversity and vibrancy of the Commonwealth and the festival really reflects this.
“We want to let the people of the city know all about the healthy foods of the Commonwealth and we want to encourage people to grow herbs, spices, and vegetables at home so that everyone can experience the healthy, delicious recipes the Commonwealth has to offer.”
The Nigeria event follows two successful community events, one focusing on Ghana and the second on Trinidad and Tobago.
Parveen added:
“We have had a brilliant response so far; people have loved tasting the unusual dishes on offer and have really enjoyed the cultural entertainment that we had been able to offer.
“We have many more events lined up and we would encourage as many people as possible to come and join in.”
The Birchfield Jazz Festival, featuring entertainment from a host of musicians, including the renowned Heavy Beat Brass Band, is being held at St Mary’s Church, Hamstead Road, Handsworth, from 3pm to 9pm. The Heavy Beat Brass Band will be playing from 3pm to 3.40pm.
All of the CET events are free. Others lined up include a celebration of India on Friday, July 29; Sri Lanka on Tuesday, August 2; Kenya on Saturday, August 6; Wales and England on Monday, August 8; Bangladesh on Saturday, August 20 and Pakistan on Saturday, August 27.
On Wednesday, August 3, CET will be joining dignitaries and special guests to celebrate Jamaica’s 60th independence anniversary at a major event in the city from 12noon until 3pm.
Parveen said CET is also building and donating a raised bed for growing herbs and spices at each of the venues as part of its legacy plans to encourage community engagement. It will also be producing a 20-country recipe book which will be available on the website www.cetcommunity.co.uk and in other free-to-access social media.
The events are linked with the council’s Cook the Commonwealth project, which is asking for people to submit recipes from around the Commonwealth. (https://www.bvsc.org/blog/cook-the-commonwealth-recipes-needed)
For more details, visit www.cetcommunity.co.uk
Picture caption: The Heavy Beat Brass Band are playing at this year’s Birchfield Jazz Festival
