Valentine’s Night celebrations in Ghana are seeing a generational shift in dining preferences, as younger people, mostly Generation Z (Gen Z) embracing exotic cuisines, while older patrons continue to favor traditional local dishes.
A survey by The High Street Journal (THSJ) gathered that popular restaurants and food spots in Accra on Valentine’s Day showed a growing trend among younger couples opting for continental dishes such as sushi, pasta, and gourmet steaks while elder folks were opting for local dishes.
THSJ noted that many high-end restaurants offering international cuisines were fully booked, with some restaurants confirming that a majority of their reservations came from young people.
This generation is more experimental with food, and they love to explore dishes from different cultures.
On the other hand, older couples and long-time lovers were going in for traditional Ghanaian meals, with eateries specializing in local cuisine experiencing high patronage. Meanwhile, a continental restaurant in East Legon reported a significant increase in bookings from younger customers.
Mr Joe Wilson Tetteh, a Chef and President of Hospitality Alliance of Ghana, has said that vast of Ghanaians prefer local dishes to continental dishes, adding that most restaurants prepare more local dishes than traditional cuisines.
Speaking in an interview with The High Street Journal, Chef Joe who has over a decade of experience in the hospitality industry, noted that despite the increasing availability of international dishes in restaurants and hotels, Ghanaian staples like fufu, banku, waakye, and jollof rice remained the top choice for many diners.
“Ghanaians love their traditional meals. No matter how much exposure they have to foreign cuisines, they always come back to their favorite local foods,” he said.
“Almost every buffet have a mixture of the local and the foreign foods, but what we have noticed is that the local foods always gets finished before the continental foods.”
He attributed this preference to the rich flavors, cultural significance, and familiarity of Ghanaian meals, he further explained that Ghanaians who go for continental dishes are just being influence by social media and the need of belongingness.
When THSJ inquired further about the trend in shift of tastes, he said technological advances and copying from the western world is influencing most Ghanaians especially the youth, leading to the trend of patronizing foreign foods. “But, the reality is that Ghanaians prefer local dishes”,
Speaking on nutritional values, Chef Joe explained that the preference for local foods also stems from their nutritional value. “Many of our traditional dishes are made with fresh, organic ingredients, and they provide essential nutrients that are good for overall health,” he said.
Furthermore, in an interview with Mr Jove Ansah, CEO of Food Link Restaurant, and the Vice President of the Chef Association of Ghana, also disclosed that, the rise of foreign dishes has been attributed to social media and technological advances, explaining that, people like to taste what they see especially from the western world.
He explained that the fusion of traditional dishes with foreign ingredients has led to the love of continental dishes but, the reality is that, people do love their local food but with a twist of foreign ingredients.
Nonetheless, as restaurants adapt to consumer trends, they are also shaping what farmers cultivate, the growing preference for organic and fresh farm-to-table meals has led to an increased demand for vegetables like lettuce, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, and exotic herbs such as basil and rosemary.
In 2023, Ghana imported approximately $133 million worth of key food processing ingredients, marking a 48% increase from $89.2 million in 2022. These imported items were additives, wheat flour, spices, sweeteners, and food coloring.
To meet the demands of restaurants, many farmers are now adjusting their production to cater to this shift, some are investing in greenhouse farming to meet the demand for high-quality vegetables, yet policies and lack of technological innovations hinders their growth.
However, Chef Ansah, told THSJ that, government and private investors must take the mandate to provide technological equipments and expertise to improve farmers productivity, such as storage facilities and more processing companies. “During the dry seasons we do not get fresh vegetables so we turn to canned ones for our food preparation, so if these vegetables could be processed or stored during their peak season then we would not have to worry about cost”, he said.
