“WE’LL EAT SOON”: A CONVERSATION WITH BIJOUX MANKELE

Bijoux Mankele

Bijoux Mankele is a passionate chef who was born in the Republic of Congo and moved to Germany when she was eleven. When the pandemic first hit in 2020, she decided to buy her first smartphone and start documenting her cooking, posting to Instagram — and her own website — under the name Food Fruit African. She dreams of writing a cookbook as a tribute to her Congolese grandmother, whom Bijoux spent a lot of time cooking with while growing up.

How did you start your blog? And tell us something about your plans for a Congolese cookbook. 

During the first lockdown in 2020, I bought my first smartphone and taught myself how to take photos and make videos for Instagram with the help of YouTube tutorials. That’s how I began my blog. I have been thinking about writing a Congolese cookbook in honour of my grandparents for a long time.

I have been cooking since I was a child. I lived with my grandparents when I was little, and it is tradition in Congolese families that girls cook with their grandmothers. I always enjoyed cooking with her after school — no one had to force me into the kitchen. When I tell people here that I started cooking at six years old, they often ask me if I had to. But it is absolutely normal there, and I loved it — certainly also because it allowed me to spend so much time with my grandmother. When I was eleven, I came to Germany with my mother; my father was already here. When I got to Germany, I just kept cooking. My mother then had to set a rule that I was only allowed to cook on the weekends, since she wanted me to play with other children and not spend so much time in the kitchen.

I vividly remember going along to the market with grandma to do food shopping. The selection of products there is absolutely beautiful: dried stockfish, perch, catfish, tilapia and a lot more. Here in Berlin I can only get those ingredients dried or frozen in my trusted Afro shop.

Do you know who your followers are?

My followers are very mixed; many of them are Europeans or Congolese, and there are also many Africans who were born and raised in Germany. They cook the recipes themselves, and I often hear that the food reminds them of their families at home. That always makes me very happy. Another group of followers that I am very fond of is German women who are married to Congolese men and want to cook traditional food for their partners.

My family in Congo also follows me and likes to comment on my posts. They are completely amazed that I still remember all the recipes from back then — but they also think that I have become too German and am not African enough anymore. I have a big mouth, I defend myself and I don't let men tell me anything. That doesn't go down with them very well. I haven't seen my family since I left as a child. I would love to meet the whole family again, and get to know them as they are today.

Do you exclusively focus on Congolese food?

I mainly focus on what my grandmother cooked. Back home we ate very little meat, but a lot of fish and vegetables. That is why you’ll only find a few meat dishes on my account. My grandmother always paid a lot of importance to healthy food and good nutrition.There was a mango tree in the garden of the house I grew up in. When I wasn’t in the kitchen, that’s where I liked to be. The taste of those freshly picked mangoes — it is an indescribable memory. Unfortunately, my grandparents don’t live there anymore, and we no longer own the house. 

Are the desserts you post also inspired by your grandmother’s cooking? 

Traditionally, in Congo dishes are not ordered from starter to dessert. My grandma always said: We'll eat soon. Why should we eat something beforehand?

You post a cake recipe every Sunday — Sundays and cake go together really well and feel quite German…

I used to be a real party girl and went out a lot on the weekends. I had a little tradition: After a long night, I would buy myself a cake on Sunday morning. Now that I’m no longer a party girl and don’t have headaches each Sunday, I figured I could bake my own cakes. I liked the idea of posting a cake recipe each Sunday. It also seemed like a good way to get non-Africans to my Instagram. 

I get the impression that there is little interest in and knowledge about African food in Western countries — and yet there are a lot of preconceptions and prejudices about it. 

I certainly think there is some interest — but also a lot of fear surrounding these unknown dishes. A lot of people think we just eat meat on the bone, wild animals… Since starting my Instagram page, people have remarked that they were surprised by the amount of vegetarian dishes and the vast selection of vegetables. It’s not just chicken legs. They are there, too, of course, but that is not all. Another preconception is that African food must be very spicy. I love it when people have these prejudices and I can show them otherwise with my dishes.

Interview: Sandra von Mayer-Myrtenhain
Photos: Bijoux Mankele