African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 625: Chapter 303 Gourmet Festival

The East African military advisory group, along with military supplies for the Orange people, was sent to the Orange Free State, since the East African military advisory group’s apparent identity was as the after-sales personnel for the Austrian-Hungarian Empire purchasing weapons from the Orange people.

This weapons after-sales service is a standard operation, compliant with international arms trade procedures, and facilitates East Africa’s involvement in the Orange Free State’s internal conflict.

If they were to openly bear the East African flag into the Orange Free State, it would be unseemly for both sides. Even though the British and Transvaal people know East Africa will surely intervene as a bother, as long as this veil isn’t lifted, everyone remains surface-level ”friends.”

While East Africa is mired in turmoil, First Town is hosting the First National East African Food Festival, creating a stark contrast to the war-torn Orange Free State.

Luckily, East Africa doesn’t have a national news broadcast; otherwise, they might draw comparisons. Of course, East Africa doesn’t lack newspapers, so there will definitely be a feature to promote this food festival.

”Based on last year’s lessons from the various preliminary rounds, we should focus this food-related coverage on Nairobi, where East Africans are most particular about food, and Nairobi is the region with the most discerning taste, so in this edition, we should allocate more coverage to Nairobi,” instructed Mark, the head of East African News Agency, to his staff.

”Rest assured, sir, we understand, given that many immigrants in Nairobi are from Venice in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, as well as from the Far East. Both groups have their unique culinary pursuits, which are renowned nationwide, so we’ll definitely pay extra attention!”

Mark, being a thorough Saxon himself, completely agreed with this point, because Germans were too coarse when it came to food, lacking any particular talent.

”Mm, Leon is right, Italians are more selective about ingredients, focusing on technique and process, while unwilling to accept modifications to traditional Italian cuisine. Meanwhile, Far Easterners focus on the freshness of ingredients and pursue rich flavors with diverse methods. In the East African culinary field, it seems there are three factions, but in reality, it’s a duel between two major powers.”

Three factions naturally include German cuisine, but in the 19th century, German cuisine was very lacking. As for the famous German sausages, ordinary people couldn’t afford the meat versions, often buying cheaper mixed vegetable sausages, which tasted far worse. But for German commoners who hadn’t tasted better, they were quite good.

German pickled cabbage was rather famous, but East Africans didn’t have a taste for it. While pickles were good for whetting the appetite, in tropical East Africa, fresh fruits and vegetables were available year-round, providing better options, so demand for pickled cabbage was very low. Some do still follow traditional pickling methods, occasionally trying different flavors.

In summary, German cuisine cannot compete with Italian or Far Eastern cooking. This is primarily because many of East Africa’s Italian immigrants hail from the Venice region.

The Venice region is considered one of Italy’s wealthier areas and has traditionally been a commercial center in the Mediterranean region, located near the Po River Plain and bordered by the Alps to the north. As the saying goes, you live off the mountains and the sea, Venice lacked for nothing; even if something was lacking, it could be imported.

Thus, the living standards of the Venice region’s people were somewhat higher than those in Germany and the Far East. If not for the war, no one would choose to leave their homeland for East Africa.

Mark continued, ”This food festival is excellent news material, paired with the southern Orange Free State conflict, our newspaper sales this month should be good, so let’s be proactive.”

Domestic East Africa does not lack news, yet a national event like the food festival is rare, and this is a significant reason why Mark actively encourages this publicity.

”Alright, meeting adjourned!” Mark said.

The journalists of the East African News Agency got moving, with the competition’s final stop set in First Town, making it quite convenient.

It was Sunday, hence the streets were filled with people. Everyone was usually busy with work, and naturally spent their day off accompanying family members shopping and engaging in other activities.

”The topic for the first round is to use the official provided ingredients, with no specific content restrictions, allowing competitors to showcase their skills by making their signature dish, to be evaluated by the judges and citizens,” announced the host.

The competition was held on St. Anthony Street, attracting many onlookers, with police maintaining order on-site to prevent stampede incidents.

”Mr. Rols, you’re the winner of the Nairobi City division, and one of the favorites to win this food festival. What dish will you prepare today?” asked East African News Agency reporter Locks.

Rols replied, ”Due to official ingredients, my choices were somewhat limited, but there is a wide selection provided, which offers room for creativity. There’s fresh beef, which I’ll use as the base, alongside carrots, onions, and various spices and seasonings to make a beef soup.”

”Whom do you think poses the greatest threat to you today?”

”Mr. Val,” Rols answered without hesitation.

”I understand Mr. Val is skilled in Italian cuisine as well. You both come from the Venice region, so why do you consider him your biggest threat?”

”Exactly because he and I are both from Venice, our dish similarities might be the greatest, so I place him as my top competitor,” Rols explained his reasoning.

”Mm, Mr. Val is also one of the winners from the Mombasa City division, so his skills should be quite formidable,” Locks the reporter agreed.

While Nairobi is noted as East Africa’s famous ”foodie” city, the strength of the competitors from Mombasa and Dar es Salaam shouldn’t be underestimated either.

On one hand, Mombasa and Dar es Salaam are East Africa’s two leading economic areas, lacking shortcomings in various fields, especially evident in the culinary industry.

As gateways for East Africa’s international economy, Mombasa and Dar es Salaam have the largest populations alongside numerous restaurants and hotels, making the culinary industry in these cities unparalleled in East Africa.

If choosing East Africa’s culinary capital, it would undoubtedly be between Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, with Nairobi known for its food enthusiasts, thus more fitting as a judging city.

On the other hand, the population size of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam far surpasses Nairobi’s, comparable only to Mbeya City.

Nairobi’s textile industry exists in both Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, along with other industries.

More populous areas mean greater competition; coupled with Mombasa and Dar es Salaam’s economic vitality being stronger than Nairobi’s, thus their culinary industry surpasses Nairobi’s.

As for Mbeya City, deep inland, its culinary scene pales compared to the other three cities; however, it’s comparable to the future tech city Soga and the capital First Town in East Africa.

Soga City boasts high incomes and strong consumption power, with East African government or Ernst prioritizing treatment for professional talents, and First Town, as the capital, naturally doesn’t lag in this aspect.