Love Lagos flavour: How master chefs shared trade secrets

It was a quiet and dry celebration of Nigeria’s 56th independence anniversary in most state capitals in Nigeria but not in Lagos. There is indeed a growing and glowing feelings that Lagos is truly headed somewhere with its tourism. It is a kind of growing strategic connect between the government, the irrepressible and creative private sector tourism vendors and the Lagos citizens and their visitors.

If you are on ground and with ears to the ground, watching the government every tourism move, you would agree that a tourism template, a new outdoor culture is fast emerging and the citizens robustly responding to the development.

Again back to the independence celebration, Lagos government responded sensitively to the needs of the hard working citizens through its love Lagos project, which this time around brought together the best chefs, not necessarily the famous to the door steps of all.

On Sunday, 2nd October, the door to this great encounter with chefs of the best culinary flavours and providers of key services in the emerging Lagos agro economy was opened to an enthusiastic crowd of foodies whose palates were over stretched by the diversity on showcase. The free gate admittance has nothing to do with the huge surging crowd recorded at the opening for the two-day event which ended on Monday 3rd of October, a day set aside to mark Nigeria’s anniversary.

To Lagos state government tourism officials, the love Lagos food showcase is a responsive expectation to give Lagosians and their friends the needed platform to engage and dip hands into the pots of the best and emerging chefs in town, burst stress and eat right. In truth, this open food court affair is a dream from the private sector, the small players who modestly could handle gathering of between Fifty to Hundred people desires. It is the fulcrum driver to providing the needed situational picture, data and future growth of an emerging bankable and verifiable culinary segment of the octopus tourism sector. What Lagos has done was to nest and incubate this trend, considered the most critical after lodging and security in the ladder of hospitality offering. We spoke to most visitors and the service providers and the consummate consensus is for love Lagos Food Flavour to run at least strategically every weekend to give total revival to outdoor recreation in the emerging most creative city in West Africa.

Folarin Coker told me that the idea will guarded to achieve an overall goal of Governor Ambode’s tourism and entertainment – blue print for Lagos and as such, the experimented bench mark will be recreated all over the strategic tourism zones in Lagos to drive local entrepreneurship in tourism and also power rural development.

From One Lagos Master brand, the Love Lagos and Lagos fiesta, it is now gradually emerging that Ambode’s Lagos is ready to dethrone top ranked tourism friendly cities in Africa but above all, restore the citizens’ love and hope in Lagos. Please come with me to the Love Lagos Flavour Food Court.

PEPPERED PONMO AND ROASTED PLANTAIN

Cow skin (Ponmo), very popular in this part of Nigeria, remain the signature dish for “Big Boys” in the city watching their weight and fragile heart, so this dish became the must taste at the Love Lagos Flavour. Even though a medium plate of the soft cow skin dish goes for about 3,500k, my major palate adventure was a plate of roasted plantain (Boli) with peppered fish, and garnished with vegetables.

ALL BLENDS, BENDS AND ALL KINDS

A walk through the foods court provided an oven blend of all kinds. From Amala, Pounded Yam, Coco Yam soup, Snail and Banga Soup. Honestly, in Lagos, you can get anything that catches your fancy and for any part of the country. One that thrilled me was a small nomadic grocery vendor that can deliver farm fresh produce at your door step no matter where you live in Lagos. This means you can eat anything and everything, from select farms in Lagos (Fresh) without fear of contamination.

TOURISM SECURITY OF DIFFERENT KIND

There is no denying the fact that security plays crucial role in any gathering even at strategic place(s) where people mingle to dance, wine and dine. To me and any keen observer of Lagos tourism offerings, security is highly visible, proactive and friendly. In fact, the friendliness of security at the Love Lagos Food festival is so cheering, well dressed bouncers, alert and sharp police anti kidnapping squad, road safety officials and “spy” DSS Officials, all helping to project a better crime free Lagos.

EVEN THE AGBEROS WERE ORGANIZED

The so called street boys are getting smarter or maybe somebody has really gotten them to get their acts right. They took control of Car Park Slots and smiled home to the banks. At the event, its 1,000k to park no matter how long you stay and Lagosians and their friends happily paid. These guys have their own enforcers and woe betide anyone who comes near such vehicles without good explanations. Again, this a major gain for tourism as a distributor and creator of wealth and job openings. We thumb up Governor Ambode and his tourism apostle Folarin Coker on this breakthrough. Lest I forget, the boys had branded one Lagos vests to show off their connection.

THE VIBE THAT EMPTIED HOTEL ROOMS

The old ‘Bar Beach promenade (now Eko Atlantic) is a whistle distance to key hotels, and lodges in Victoria Island, so the heavy vibes from the food court must have lured out the “Oyinbos” and other visitors nestling in the highbrow hotels near the venue. Am sure the launch and dinner tables at those hotels must have recorded a poor attendance as most of their “valued” guests decided that the open diversity of Lagos flavor was better, cheaper and more interesting. The way the Oyinbos invaded the place, I truly wonder if the hotels will be happy whenever the event comes to that venue again, particularly if it becomes a Love Lagos weekend affair.

A GOOD PLACE TO HOST FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES

Though most of the vendors do outdoor, but for me, the event gives me more beneficial windows as place to host friends without paying “ground rent” and of course having to see how my meal is prepared.

Indeed, you could learn to do most of those things you love by watching the chefs and most of them are willing to take visitors through free lectures. A Worthy bargain, Try it out next time at the event to host a friend or family.