Cooking is part of her culture.
Adjo Honsou knew her favorite recipe, Oxtail in Palm Nut Stew, was a winner. Now, the rest of the world knows it, too, because it was the dish that earned Honsou the top prize on Season 3 of “The Great American” Recipe on PBS, which airs in St. Louis on the Nine Network.
“They reached me through FUFU n’ Sauce’s Instagram page,” said Honsou, a home chef from Togo, West Africa who has lived in St. Louis since she was 14 years old.
“They were casting for home cooks to represent different regions in America on the show.”
Honsou said the show taught her lessons that she will never forget.
“As a home cook you don’t necessarily have the techniques of trained chefs,” said Honsou.
“I think being on the show gave me some of those techniques and then at the same time made me think like a chef. I started thinking more executionary when it comes to cooking, rather than just the know-how when it comes to cooking.”
Growing up in Togo, cooking was a traditional activity for women and that’s where she nurtured her love for preparing meals, Honsou explained
“I’m from a culture where cooking is just part of the woman’s job,” Honsou said.
“From a young age you are just around cooking. My grandma’s cooking, my mom is cooking, my aunts are cooking, everybody is cooking. Cooking for us is such a community thing to do. For example, Sunday’s everybody gets together, everybody’s doing their part, and so I just always grew up around the kitchen.’’
After moving to America, Honsou said she missed the food she grew up eating but couldn’t find in America. Once again, necessity proved to be the mother of invention, as she started cooking her own native dishes.
Honsou has her own business and food truck named “FUFU n’ Sauce.” She’s had a food truck for about a year and a half. The Brand itself is two and a half years old.
“The first year there was a pop-up model at festivals and tents; the following year we bought the food truck,” Honsou said.
Honsou has sold her sauce and cuisine at the Taste of St. Louis Festival, the Juneteenth Festival, the St. Louis Pride Festival, Festival of Nations, and several Food Truck Fridays with Taste Magazine. She plans to do more in the fall.
FUFU n’ Sauce has a homemade curry available for purchase on FUFU n’ Sauce. The curry is important because the PBS show will feature an e-cookbook of Honsou’s recipes. So, the curry will be essential for people interested in creating her entrees.
Devored Horton is The St. Louis American’s Comcast/NBCUniversal WIB fellow.
Great article. Was drawn to read it as I have one son who works in Togo & another who lives in St Louis. Love how “small” the world is!
I am grateful to Adjo for exposing STL to tasty soups and stew dishes from West Africa. Family and friends message me asking if I have heard of “fufu,” as if it is a new discovery. After living in Africa for 30-plus years, I maintain an African diet, including fufus, known by many different names. I have eaten her food and appreciate the authenticity of her flavors and presentation. Bonne continuation Adjo.