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Embark on a culinary journey to West Africa in minutes with Ayo West African Foods. On this episode of Shop Essence Live in partnership with The New Voices Family, we interview Co-Founder Perteet Spencer and do a live taste test of these amazing and super convenient West African frozen dishes.
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00:00Hello, hello, and welcome to another episode of Shop Essence Live. I am your host, Noni
00:05Donovan, and this is a show we do in partnership with the New Voices family, where we bring
00:11you two new Black-owned businesses to shop with us every single week. Now, we have such
00:17a treat for you this week. If, let's say, you are West African or second-generation
00:22West African, you've been craving your homeland's food, but you ain't that chef like grandma
00:28or like your mom, this next entrepreneur is completely changing your life, okay? So if
00:36you fit that description or you know someone that fits that description, you need to stop
00:40and share this with them right, right now. I want you guys to welcome to the show,
00:45Pertit Spencer, co-founder of IO West African Foods. Hello! Hi, how are you? So good to be here.
00:53First of all, I don't know if I can make you guys understand how amazing my house smells
00:59right now, because we're going to do some live taste tests, and when I tell you, it just
01:04smells so incredible. Before we get into these incredible recipes that you have, this is not
01:11your grandma's TV dinner, okay? Let me tell you something. These, IO is hooking us up, so
01:17before we get into the recipes, tell us how you got here. How did you come up with this incredible
01:22line? Well, first of all, thank you so much for your comments on the smells. That is exactly
01:28what we were going for. You know, my family's from Liberia, and you know, IO for context translates
01:35to joy, and so the line is very much inspired by these incredible moments that we had with our
01:42families that were always, always, always focused around really, really good food, right? So founded
01:50the company in 2020 with my husband, husband of 17 years, Fred. Shout out to that. Hey, Fred.
01:59We both come from really big families who happen to like each other, and so we all get together.
02:05It's a gang of people. And so it was important for us to bring food that represent us and our
02:14culture to the aisles of grocery. You know, my background is in food, so spent most of my career
02:20in food, spent many, many years at General Mills building brands, and then several years advising
02:27brands. But as I walked up and down the aisles of the grocery stores, you know, the food we ate at
02:34home was not on the shelves. And we just saw that as a massive gap and wanted to make it easier
02:42to enjoy the food that we love eating so much. And you know, the food takes a long time to prepare,
02:47you know? Absolutely. Yeah. You know, one of the limiters to, you know, having West African food on
02:54the regular is that, you know, there's an ingredient hunt, and then it just takes hours and hours of prep.
03:00And so we knew there was a better way. We don't shortchange anything. As you mentioned, like we've
03:07brought aunties and mamas into the kitchen. We've replicated their processes, but we've done it at
03:13scale to really make it easy to enjoy jollof or meat pies or cassava leaf on a Tuesday night.
03:24Yeah, the pepper sauce. Okay. So I'm so excited. You know, I'm sitting over here hungry, smelling all this.
03:32So I just want to do a live taste test to give people kind of a clue as to how amazing it is. And
03:42is there, like, how do you, what's the story behind how you source the recipes? I see that
03:49the box has, some of the boxes have the actual chef that you partnered up with on this. What's that
03:56process like before we get into the recipes? Yeah. So, you know, it's very much a combination.
04:02The reality is like, we're talking about 17 countries, right? And so every country has
04:08their unique flavors and traditions that they're bringing to the table. And we do proclaim to be
04:16experts in every single one. But it was important to us that we represented the breadth of the diaspora
04:24in our food. So, you know, the Liberian recipes, which were a couple of our first recipes,
04:29those are recipes from, you know, my mom and my aunts that we brought directly into the R&D labs to kind of
04:37prepare them the right way and then scale those up. Yeah. You know, work with some of the best
04:43Ghanaian chefs in the world, like Eric Adjepong and Zoya Jono to bring their favorite recipes to more
04:49people. Our head of culinary is Nigerian. And so we're really bringing kind of the breadth of the diaspora
04:56diaspora to the center of the table, which we think is just long, long overdue. And so you'll see on a couple of
05:08these dishes, pictures, those are the chefs that we've partnered with to really bring their goodness to the
05:14world. And they were in the kitchens with us, their recipes, you know, we've just had the pleasure of
05:20representing them at scale. Yeah. It's been one of the biggest joys of our life to be able to do this
05:27for the culture and excited about where it's going.
05:32So, so good. And it's, it's really a beautiful bridge when you want to be connected to your
05:38heritage. It's through music, it's through the foods, it's through the smell. And I can just imagine
05:43somebody being homesick and putting one of these in the microwave and being able to, you know, be
05:48comforted by that, you know, familiar flavor. So really, really kudos to you. Kudos to hubby. I'm so
05:56excited to dive in. So I admittedly told you my son, when he was homesick, he was, he was tearing into
06:01some of these. Okay. So my 15 year old, two thumbs up on these. Tastes so incredible. But what, what, what do we
06:08want to try out first?
06:10Well, I want to, I want to introduce something new. So I don't even know if you have this, this is hot off the
06:15presses. And so I'll introduce it and then we'll segue into the sauces. But, you know, if you've
06:22ever been to a West African party, you know, small chops are plentiful. And there's always like meat
06:29pies, but, and I'm admittedly a little awkward at times and always make a mess some way because
06:36they're, they're kind of awkwardly sized. Like they're not like perfectly one biter. And so
06:41my own benefit, but also to make that occasion easier, we've launched a line of meat pies,
06:48which we're so excited about. So these are just rolling out as we speak. Exclusive little itty
06:55bitty bites of, so we've got, or actually five really delicious flavors. So we have kind of in,
07:05you know, marks of meat pies. So really delicious kind of outer crust, that pastry crust. I won't
07:12tell you all this secret ingredients, but it's not just like a pie crust. Like there's some nice
07:16like aromas going on in there. And then the fillings are just like rich and bold with veggies,
07:23herbs, flavors, et cetera. So we've got four that we just launched. You can find the full lineup
07:30nationwide at Sprouts, but they're also rolling out at Target, Harris Teeter, and a number of other
07:36retailers. You'll see really like yummy. So this is a veggie here. You've got the peas and carrots in
07:46there. Some thyme, beautiful spices and herbs in that one. Can you hold that up one more time? I want
07:53to show the people. We have a really, really delicious beef, which is going to be those like
08:03more savory notes. It's got, you know, more clove, clove base in that one. We're using all like
08:11hormone free and antibiotic free kind of meats because it's vitally important that not only are
08:20we eating good food, but we're eating food that is good for us as well. Um, we have our chicken,
08:27uh, mini pie. Um, and then we have a fish, which is actually, um, we're getting the fish from the
08:35golf. So it's a golf, uh, golf caught Spanish mackerel. Um, here's a beef. Um, that one is arguably,
08:47um, my personal favorite, you know, you don't see mackerel a lot in mainstream groceries. So we
08:54were really excited to, to bring that to the market. And, you know, what's been exciting about
09:00this is we're bringing like thousands of thousands of pound, like pounds of fish, like directly from
09:06the golf, like into your plane. We're cleaning it, skinning it. So like everything is like of the
09:12highest, freshest quality. And then the sleeper, but really fun one. Um, I know you've had our
09:19jollof with chicken bowl, um, in the goodness of that bowl and put it into a small bite. And so
09:27yes. So as you think about the size of these, like they're perfect for obviously appetizers,
09:34they come 10 to pack, um, appetizers. My girls are 10 and 12. They take them for lunch. And so
09:42it's also really fun to see like the West African flavors hit in the lunchroom. That was something
09:48that, you know, I used to get like stares, like, what does that smell when I used to bring food from
09:53home to school growing up? So that's something we're really, really proud of. Um, and, uh, you know,
10:00they're also great as a dinner side. So like, we'll do it with like some rice or a salad and like
10:05you're good to go. Um, you know, one of the reasons we launched the mini pies is, uh, to have an
10:13additional pairing with the sauces. And so, uh, some of you may have heard the story of our puff puff
10:19and how that came to be. Um, and so puff puff launched a couple of years ago now. Um, and I grew up
10:28eating puff puff pepper sauce, but we did not have a pepper sauce. Um, and you know, we have a bold
10:35vision for bringing West African flavors to kind of every aisle in the store. And so, uh, the pepper
10:42sauce was a natural extension. And so, um, that puff puff with the pepper sauce is magic. Um, if you've
10:52never had a puff puff, think of it similar to like a beignet. Um, so it's yeast based dough. Yes. Like
10:59really warm goodness. Um, it's flash fried. Yeah. Dip that in. It does. No, me, I will tell you,
11:06uh, it's got some spice. So hopefully you're going to okay with the heat. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:13Um, this is my family's, uh, pepper sauce recipe. So Liberian pepper sauce. Um, it's going to be more
11:21citric. So you got the hot pepper, uh, you've got a little ginger and basil and tomato in there. So
11:29it's really bright, obviously great with the puff puff. Also like one of our favorite things we'll
11:35do in the summer is like, put it over a piece of fish, grill that up and then put some more on top.
11:40And it's just, because there's some oil in the sauce, it's just, it's pretty magical. What do you
11:45think? First of all, the puff puff alone is so delicious. Yeah. Top notch delicious. The sauce
11:54is kicking. Yeah. Incredible. Let me tell you something. If you want to impress somebody,
12:00I love the suggestion, the recipe. I can completely imagine this over a really nice fish.
12:05Yep. So good. So good. The other easy kind of hack with the puff puff is, um, because there's,
12:16it's not overly sweet. It's highly versatile. So I ate it as a side bread growing up. Um,
12:22my kids now will put powdered sugar on it and take it in the morning for breakfast. And so a,
12:27one of my like sleeper, like wow desserts is like, I'll throw some of those in the oven.
12:32Uh, do like some Nutella or, or a creme anglaise and just like lay those out. It looks really
12:39beautiful. It looks like I've been working all day. Um, and it's very much like a wow. Right.
12:44And then I think you've got some chito. Um, so chito.
12:47Oh yeah, this is delicious. Uh, so the mark of that is going to be, it cooks forever,
12:55which gives it that beautiful color. Um, very different flavor profile than the,
13:01the hot pepper sauce. And so, uh, in that one, you've got dried shrimp, uh, caramelized onions,
13:09rosemary, and we just like let that cook as long as possible to get those bowls.
13:15First, um, these actually come in a two pack in the, in online, you actually get this cute little
13:20case that is only sold online. Um, so you can try both, um, all of our prices, uh, include shipping.
13:27Um, and then for our essence fam, we're doing 20% off. And so I know, I forgot about the,
13:34they're going to get that code.
13:36Put it in your chart already.
13:40Include the code.
13:42No, it's just like an awesome way to try two very different, um, sauces. Um, the chito is kind
13:50of our everything sauce. Uh, so we'll put it on rice, roasted veggies, guache, um, pizza. It's
13:59really delicious. Um, I mean, it's just eggs. Like it's just, you can really, really put it on
14:06anything. So good. So, so good. And then should we talk about the meals?
14:13Yes. Let's talk about the meals. Yeah. So we got our start. Our start really was with, uh,
14:22uh, frozen meals. So when we started in 2020, we launched three frozen meals. Um, Whole Foods
14:27was our first retailer. Uh, so we launched a plain jollof, uh, a goosey and cassava leaf,
14:33which is, uh, the Liberian dish that travels with my family wherever we go. Um, and, uh, the
14:40reason, um, people sometimes are like, why did you start in frozen? And the reason we
14:46started in frozen is, um, you know, as you think about kind of finding the proper ingredients
14:52to make the food the right way, um, and the time involved, we just knew one, if we gave
14:58you like a kit that you would probably mess it up the first time. Um, and two, we just wanted
15:04to make it as easy as possible for people to experience the richness of these flavors.
15:09And so we did all the work and started with a line of three bowls. Uh, we now have eight
15:15bowls, um, that you can find at retailers all over the country. Um, and, uh, we're featuring,
15:22uh, our kind of chefs, chefs pack, uh, today, uh, which is, uh, three of our, our top sellers.
15:31Yep. So you've got our chicken yassa and our groundnut stew up. And then, uh, the third is
15:37our watch a, uh, by, uh, chef Eric. And so I can tell you a little bit, um, about each of those
15:45dishes. Um, so, uh, chicken yassa, um, is, uh, from chef Eric Adjepong. Many of you may, um, know
15:54him from his time on top chef some years back. Um, but he has gone on to have an amazing career,
16:00uh, in many different facets and it's just an incredible, uh, human to partner with. Um,
16:06uh, so we brought his chicken yassa to the market. So that's going to be, um, uh, braised chicken
16:14thighs, a little lemon Dijon, uh, really rich citric flavors, um, that are going to be served
16:22over a bed of jasmine rice. Um, the other really interesting thing about yassa, um, is it's low in
16:28sodium? So we don't advertise it on the box. Cause we know sometimes when you say low sodium,
16:33that takes people to the place that they, that it doesn't like taste good, but this is actually
16:38quite the opposite. Um, you'll find flavors are just like really natural and rich, um, and people,
16:44um, kind of fall in love at first bite, uh, with our chicken yassa.
16:50This is so perfect. So this one, teenage boy approved, my 15 year old tried this and absolutely
16:56loved it. And he's actually now very into wellness and like meal prepping and all the, you know,
17:05all that. So he's, he absolutely loves this and it's a healthy option for a quick meal, which we love.
17:12Awesome. Well, while we're in a chef, Eric, why don't we talk about the watch a real quick?
17:17And I think that's actually a nice thing. So the next two dishes I'll share with you
17:22are very like centric in health. Um, one, because we were thoughtful about how we crafted things,
17:28but also like the reality is like, uh, West African food is not a monolith and there's a lot of really
17:35rich, interesting flavors. And so the watch a, um, is actually, uh, red peas. I love like the sparkle
17:43in your eyes. That's always a good sign. Um, so we, we actually get, um, red peas from the Anson Mills farm,
17:51um, um, that's in South Carolina. They were most known, they were known for being, um, on high on the
17:57hog, but also, um, a lot of restauranteurs. And then you'll see that rice is like this beautiful red
18:05color that actually comes from the watch a leaves. And so, uh, we cook that rice, uh, Jasmine rice
18:14again in the like red millet water, which gives it that color. And then on top, we do this really
18:21beautiful, like aromatic red sauce. And then all that rice gets tossed in, uh, roasted garlic and
18:28coconut oil. So it's vegan, 15 grams of protein, but not vegan because we were trying to make it
18:34vegan, just vegan because that is, you know, that is the dish. Um, and so great option for our plant-based
18:41restaurants. Um, and then the last one that I'll touch on. This is so delicious. I'm not supposed
18:47to eat the whole bowl as a taste test, but this is pretty good. Um, and then the last one that I'll
18:55touch on the ground at stew, um, is from, uh, one of our favorites chefs, Zoe Agonio of Zoe's Ghana
19:03Kitchen, another like lovely, lovely human, um, to partner with. And we're so privileged to work with
19:10her. Um, so fun story about, uh, Zoe's, uh, groundnut stew. She's actually, um, a Guinean Brit. So,
19:19um, you know, her beginnings were actually preparing this groundnut stew for friends as she built kind
19:26of a following, um, and did a series of pop-up restaurants in the UK. Uh, and so we feel so
19:33privileged to be able to bring, uh, her recipe, uh, to more people. Right. And so, uh, groundnut
19:40stew is one of those dishes where often people will like close their eyes for a moment. Um,
19:46yeah. Cause they're like, this reminds me of home. Right. Um, and that's what we want people
19:53to feel when they have our food. It's like, we know it's not the exact same as like your, your
19:59auntie or your mom making it, but we want to give you those moments, uh, when they're lacking.
20:06That one is also incredible in protein. So, uh, 32 grams of protein, um, in that dish, which
20:13showed me another item in the frozen aisle that has those nutritionals. Um, and, uh, the protein's
20:21coming from, uh, peanut butter, uh, we're using sugar pies in that one. And then it's this beautiful,
20:28uh, kind of mix of peanut butter, fresh peanuts, and then roasted red peppers, tomato to give it
20:37like this really rich, uh, uh, taste of home. So, and you can see like very different experiences
20:43from everyone. Right. So you could have a different box every day of the week and like
20:47be set, uh, with all your dietary. If you want to do plant-based Mondays and protein Tuesdays,
20:55like we got you. I can taste the love and intention in every single bite. Like this is not a watered
21:03down version of, you know, your favorite or childhood, uh, cultural favorites. These are
21:09really great ingredients, the smells, the aromas, the, my taste buds are doing a dance.
21:16And these is just, I'm, and if you're watching this and you just are curious about West African
21:24foods, I've never, this is not, um, from my childhood, I've never had these dishes and
21:30blown away. So if, I think it's also a really great way to introduce kids, like your children
21:37who maybe have never been, um, to your homeland to experience that part of their heritage through food.
21:45Yeah. Well, and, uh, cheaper than like tickets are crazy right now. So cheaper than our own
21:50trip. Yeah. You want to take it home?
21:55It's really great. It would make for a really, really great gift for someone. Just imagine
22:01somebody being homesick and then you get this and they close their eyes and they can,
22:04you know, feel like they've been transported back home. So great. Or reminded of their mom or their
22:10grandmother, you know, who may not be here. I think that that is a gift that you're giving to people
22:15100%. I owe foods. All right. Thank you. Yeah. So, uh, before I let you go, I want, uh, you to say a
22:25little bit about new voices. This show is in partnership with the new voices family that helps
22:30so many entrepreneurs like yourself, bring your business to the next level. I'd love to hear from
22:34you what has been the best part of it about being a part of that community. Oh man, I feel like it's
22:40a gift, uh, that keeps on giving. Uh, so our first kind of partnership with new voices was about three
22:46months in. So just after launching, um, new voices actually gave us our first outside capital, uh,
22:53through a grant. Um, and that, that money could not have come at a more kind of critical time as, uh,
23:02Fred and I had poured so much of our personal savings just to get IO kind of up and running.
23:07Um, and we really needed those dollars to support the scale, um, to, to help it become what we knew
23:14it could be. And so we're so appreciative obviously for that first injection of capital from the new voices
23:21family, but above and beyond, um, that, um, the community and education has been just so pivotal
23:28in our journey as entrepreneurs. Um, you know, I came from the corporate world and so while I knew a
23:34lot about food, I knew nothing about, uh, kind of being an entrepreneur. And so, um, it was really,
23:41really, um, just an amazing experience to have a network, um, early on and one that we've continued
23:49to cultivate as we scale, just people that now I consider friends that we can reach out to,
23:54um, as, as we go through this journey.
23:58So good. I hear so much about community within the new voices family, and there's nothing like
24:04having someone that has been through what you've been through. You guys can swap advice. It is such
24:10a great community to join and it's free y'all. It is free to join. So make sure you, if you are
24:15thinking of starting a business, you have a business, you know, someone that has a black
24:20owned business, go to new voices, family.com and find out how you can join for T it's been so great
24:27to have you on the show. I'm going to try not to eat all of this tonight, but we'll send you some more.
24:34You're good. It's just, it was such a pleasure to have you on. I'm so, so grateful that, you know,
24:41this line even exists for, uh, for people to taste, you know, the taste of the West African,
24:46uh, heritage is really, really great. So thank you. And thank you to hubby for sure. Um, and I hope
24:53to see you in the future. Oh, thank you so much, Noni. I appreciate it. All right. Thank you guys for
25:00watching.
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