Ghana: Agbawe We Quarters Wins La Homowo Cooking Competition

Agbawe We quarters group, one of the nine quarters in the La Dade-Kotopon Constituency were adjudged the overall winners of the maiden La Homowo, Nye Awo Kpakpa Kpokpoi cooking competition held last Friday at La.

The group made up of five members each took home a hamper, an invitation to enjoy dinner at La Palm Hotel, received a certificate and basin each for participating.

Klanaa We came second and were given one basin and certificate each, an invitation to enjoy lunch at La Palm Hotel and a hamper.

Abafum We secured the third spot and received the same items with an invitation to go for a breakfast at La Palm Hotel.Kowe We, Dzrasee We, Sanshie We, Leshie We, Abese We and Nmati We were adjudged fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth positions respectively and were given certificates, basins and hampers for their participation.

The event was organised by Rita Naa Odorley Sowah, Member of Parliament (MP) for the area in collaboration with Labadi Beach Hotel and Jolberg Foundation.

Ms Sowah said the occasion was meant to display how the traditional and festive food ‘Kpokpoi’ was prepared and how fast it could be done.

‘We want the youth and non Ga-Adangbe to appreciate how the traditional and festive meal ‘Kpakpoi’ is prepared,” she said.

The MP said the event was a way to diffuse section of the public mind that the kpokpoi meal is a meant for the gods but not for human consumption.

She said the significance of the Homowo celebrations was to hoot at hunger and reminding the Ga-Adangbe the bumper harvest our ancestors had after a long gaming.

Ms Felicia Bortey, the Judge for the contest said the nine quarters were asked to select five members each to participate in the cooking competition in which electric or gas stoves, blenders, foreign salt and spices were not allowed, but only local items were permitted for the meal preparation.

Ms Bortey said that few retrials used for awarding marks included one-and-a-half hours for the preparation, recipe execution, sanitation and food safety, presentation of food and taste.

Ms Vida Atswei Oko, Agbawe Team Leader, expressed their appreciation for the programme, adding that it should be a yearly event to enable the Ga-Adangbe youth to learn from it.

She also urged organisers, especially the MP to also consider introducing other educative traditional programmes that depicts the way and life of the Ga-Adangbe.