For Black History Month this year, Salt City Market featured local Black chefs to make recipes from their culture. Every Thursday evening, the chefs host a cooking class for people to learn how to make their dishes.
Kuukua Yomekpe is from Ghana. For her cooking class, she chose to feature a traditional breakfast that is eaten on-the-go for most working middle class people.
“I chose it because it’s rarely demoed because it’s quick and it’s breakfast. You’re used to getting dinner when you come to these demos at 6:00. So I wanted to flip it and try something new and do something that is not often demoed,” Yomekpe said.
Yomekpe featured koose and koko. Koose is a black bean fritter that has black eyed peas, ginger, onions, habanero, garlic and is deep fried. Koko is a drink that’s paired with koose, which is millet powder with spices. Condensed milk is added for sweetness.
“I don’t always consider myself African American because I was not born here. I feel like African American experience is very specific. I always feel honored when I am invited to do something as part of Black History Month,” Yomekpe said.
She said it’s exciting to be able to share a piece of her culture with others.
“Most of the time I cook alone, especially when it’s catering, people just order, I cook and I deliver," Yomekpe said. "So these are the moments I get to share with people, I get to sit down, explain what I’m doing, explain what goes into what they’re eating and also share the culture that’s really close to my heart. So it’s really important for me to be able to do this part.”
And the history is in that culture.
“I think we don’t celebrate Black culture enough. To kind of confine it to one month is sad, but it’s great that we get to do this during the one month that we do have. We get to do different things,” Yomekpe said.
She's embracing her West African roots through traditional recipes and sharing it with others.
Yomekpe also owns Asempe Kitchen, which is a pop-up in Ithaca where she caters her dishes and gives cooking lessons.