00:02From sizzling street food to gourmet fusion plates, Abidjan is the culinary heart of Ivory Coast.
00:11Trashville is one of its oldest and most vibrant boroughs.
00:16And right here you'll find what many say is the best seafood stew in town.
00:21Ama Sawa learned to cook it from her grandmother.
00:26We've been making seafood stew for over 40 years.
00:31My grandmother taught me once during the holidays and then she told me to prepare it myself that day.
00:40Her little restaurant is well known in the neighborhood.
00:43Every day she receives a steady stream of phone orders, a testament to how popular her food has become.
00:49Yet it all began as a modest venture.
00:55She started here little by little.
00:58First her friends wanted to eat seafood stew when they came here.
01:03She started with two guests at first.
01:10Then people started ordering more and more.
01:14We were the only place making seafood stew around here.
01:21Seafood stew is a popular dish from Ivory Coast, made with an assortment of ingredients and traditional spices.
01:33It's a special meal because here it's made better than anywhere else.
01:37If you really want to eat authentic seafood stew, come to Ama Sawa's.
01:44The fish is fresh, the snails are fresh, the shrimp is fresh. Everything is fresh here.
01:53So we invite everyone to come to Tanti Amasawa's in Ivory Coast to really enjoy the seafood stew.
02:05Just a short drive from Tracheville's bustling markets and steaming kitchens, you'll find yourself in a very different setting.
02:14In Cocody, you find a truly unique chef, Charlie Coffey.
02:20More than anything, he sees himself as an artist, deeply inspired by and connected to nature.
02:27With his restaurant, he created a place where creativity, calm and culinary finesse blend seamlessly under his unique vision.
02:37Especially in the tropics, we can see lots of flowers, but we don't know if they're edible.
02:41And I say yes, they are edible. And better than that, they're even delicious.
02:48They add a special touch and liven up every dish. So I introduce people to new things and new flavors.
02:57They're edible, like clover and navelwort. And all these flowers come from the garden.
03:06The idea is to add color, color, and more color.
03:11I love bright plates. I deeply love nature, which is why my restaurant is called Villa Alfira, like a flower
03:18in a Tolkien story.
03:23Born in Abidjan, Charlie was trained in Europe. Back home, he now blends fine dining with street flavors.
03:30One of his signature dishes? A stunning duo of tiger prawns and grouper, both fresh from San Pedro, Ivory Coast's
03:37biggest fishing port.
03:39Everything you're going to see on this plate today comes from Ivory Coast. All our products come from Ivory Coast.
03:45The idea is still to offer an Ivorian dish, but stylized, worked differently to say that yes, we can make
03:50local products.
03:53After diving into Charlie Coffee's botanical universe, we head back toward the sea.
03:58This time for some traditional home cooking at Chez Rodrigue, a local gem that blends hospitality and home-style Ivorian
04:06cooking.
04:14Wait just about 15 minutes and the fish will be perfect.
04:19The house specialty is African sea catfish, prized for its firm texture and rich, distinctive flavor.
04:27The fish is marinated in a mix of ginger, garlic, chili, and local herbs, then grilled slowly over charcoal, just
04:35as it's been done along the West African coast for generations.
04:40While the culinary scene evolves, traditional home cooking like that celebrated at Chez Rodrigue continues to honor the roots from
04:47which it all grew.
04:52Avijan beautifully reflects the rich and diverse food culture of Ivory Coast, from soulful seafood stew to the innovative fusion
05:00of street flavors with culinary artistry that showcases Ivorian creativity at its best.
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