Pictures and review: Eastbourne chef celebrates 'best-selling' cookbook

The event took place in Brighton on Friday, October 14, as people gathered to speak to Eastbourne resident Lerato Umah-Shaylor.

Africana, which was released on September 29, has already been named in The Telegraph’s ‘best cookbooks to buy in autumn 2022’, was Waitrose’s book of the week, and hit the ‘best-sellers’ list on Amazon in the food history and African food categories.

At the event Mrs Umah-Shaylor thanked those attending for their support while also touching upon her inspiration for writing the book, saying she wanted to beat other top chefs to creating a cookbook about African cuisine.

The chef said she is hoping to organise a similar event in Eastbourne soon.

Jacob’s Review:

Being a foodie I was really excited to try some of the dishes Mrs Umah-Shaylor had spoken about and I was not definitely not disappointed. I was absolutely blown away by the jollof rice and fried plantain at the event. Although I have tried jollof rice in the past, this was by far the best I have ever had.

My girlfriend and I were so impressed we decided to try some of the recipes on the weekend. We immediately chose the jollof rice and decided to take on the oxtail stew – although we had to use beef shin.

With the stew, once we had everything in the pot it was just a matter of keeping an eye on it as it cooked for around three hours. The jollof rice was also relatively easy to make – although we think we may have added a bit too much stock and water.

When we tucked into the food we were really proud of ourselves for how it turned out and were amazed by the flavours, especially in the rice. A few friends came over later in the evening and tried some of the cold leftovers and they all raved about the dishes.

There is no doubt that we will be reaching for Africana again in the future.

If you would like to find out more about Africana, or would like to purchase a copy, please visit Mrs Umah-Shaylor’s website.

Africana is also available on Amazon and at Waterstones.