The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts has issued a formal invitation to the public to attend the inaugural Afro-Gastro Festival, a two-day culinary and cultural immersion scheduled for 17 and 18 October 2025 at the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park.
The event, organised under the leadership of sector minister, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, is presented as a platform for cultural diplomacy that seeks to reconnect Ghana with African and Afro-descendant food traditions through shared cooking, tasting and performance.
Gomashie framed the festival as an opportunity to demonstrate culinary commonalities across Africa and the diaspora, observing links between dishes and ingredients in places as diverse as the Volta Region, Sao Tome and Trinidad and Tobago. The programme has been structured in two parts, the minister explained: a first day devoted to a cooking ceremony and a conversation on cultural diplomacy through food, and a second day centred on live cooking, tasting and public interaction with chefs and performers. The minister emphasised the premise that, “you do not have to speak Spanish to eat Spanish food,” as a way of underlining food’s capacity to bridge language and cultural divides.
Twelve countries and a number of institutions are confirmed to participate, with chefs and culinary delegations invited to demonstrate preparation and presentation techniques. The ministry has invited chefs and culinary personalities including Chef Faila, who previously attempted a Guinness Book of Records entry, to prepare signature dishes during the festival. The minister noted a special focus on jollof rice, citing its role in Ghana’s culinary identity and international recognition, and confirmed that featured chefs will present authentic and aged jollof as part of the programme.
Music and cultural performance will accompany the culinary activities across both days. The minister listed performers expected to appear, including Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, Ayigbe Edem, and Bino, with additional young artists scheduled to provide live accompaniment to the cooking and dining experience. The integrated format is intended to allow visitors to witness how food is prepared and served, and to observe cross-cultural exchanges between visiting and local chefs.
The ministry highlighted institutional participation from hospitality training institutions and industry associations. HOTCATT and the Traditional Chefs Association of Ghana will be present, and the event will include student and community engagement components, with selected schools invited to attend. Gomashie also referenced regional outreach efforts, including a competition to encourage young people to document unique regional features through photography, an initiative already rewarded by the ministry with cameras and tripods for outstanding entries.
The minister drew attention to specific elements of Ghana’s culinary heritage that risk being overlooked, citing local ingredients and dishes and urged renewed interest in their preparation. She called on Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives, MMDCEs, to identify and develop local cultural assets, noting that recent fiscal arrangements provide assemblies with greater resources to support community initiatives. “We are urging them to themselves do things and the ministry will assist them in promoting it,” the minister said.
Minister Gomashie signalled plans for expanded collaboration with continental bodies, including the African Union, in future editions. She reiterated the ministry’s objective to use the Afro-Gastro Festival, and the broader Black Star Experience, as a vehicle to promote domestic tourism, support small businesses, and strengthen ties between Ghana, the continent and the diaspora.
