Photo Essay: When Men take control of the barbecue
When men take control of the barbecue, expect some excitement, banter and some bonding. In the only church – Action Chapel UK, that I am convinced God “lives” in and visits other churches, the men held a mother of all cookouts in honour of their womenfolk. The sort of cookout that makes you think whether somebody’s extreme faith had been secretely multiplying the food as folks sauntered in and out of the queue for seconds, thirds and for those not too familiar with the whole gluttony thing fourths and fifths! What was not on show? Kelewele? Fried yam? grilled tilapia? grilled mackerel? kenkey? banku? roast pork? roast chicken? burgers? fruit juice? The men had them all on the menu.
Armed to the teeth with knives (the kitchen types) and suitably attired in chef whites (ok so they were a bit rubbery; we don’t care) and matching chef hats, knives came out to chop and peel. From 10.00 am to 15:00 men were on their feet. Some manned the frying (kelewele and yam) station whilst others grilled meat and fish.
Above all else what impressed me most was the cooking and organisational skills on show. Today these skillful men, most of whom were born again and bred in Action Chapel stood before their “Queens” and showed themselves worthy!
The Executive chef
Preparation
This is probably what happens when the only Naija man (2nd from left staring innocently ahead and smiling delightfully) drops a hint that Naija jollof is better than Ghana jollof
and then he proceeds to ignore those protesting Ghanaians….
and he finally shoots the camera a smile. Like the great David…he knows he has won that battle.
Dad passes on some handy tips to daughter
…which includes how to juggle or simultaneously pour two things into blended fruit. I know, I don’t get it either……
Washing chopped yam
The Cookout
The only professional chef around…..making sure the “cells” in that meat were thoroughly cooked. Hmmm ok….
as his station partner looks on and wonders if vegetarianism is really that bad….
Meanwhile…Executive Chef shows off the spirit behind him…
as he marches boldly around keeping an eye on things
….then he suddenly turns around and does a Usain Bolt the other way…strange. Maybe someone shouted fire (I hope so for his sake)
The yam and Kelewele station….
When a fist bump goes horribly wrong, but only one of the two realises it. Lesson for next year’s cookout. Don’t mix Myspace with Instagram (sorry I meant don’t put new wine in old wineskins).
The proper chef again. That’s pork by the way, on giant skewers. Very Rodizio-esque
The grilled tilapia. Absolutely divine!
The sausages….
The chicken……
The Kelewele…..
Break for Holy Communion
Barbecuing
Don’t try this at home. Always use gloves unless you can rock those beads like he can.
Pork and Chicken…
Hmmm no comment
My favourite on the day again – tilapia
Chef cutting the pork into bitesized chunks
Sausages….
More fish…..
Kelewele in the making….
More chicken…..
Marinated mackerel – a real work of art, this one.
Now it’s (mackerel) been oven roasted and ready….
Chow ready
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