Central African Cuisine

Central African cuisine is a hearty, wholesome and communal tradition, drawing on the produce of the rainforest and the fish of the great rivers. Its staple is gozo or fufu, a soft dough of pounded cassava or sometimes plantain, eaten with the hands and dipped into rich sauces and stews. Beloved dishes include savoury stews of cassava leaves and greens cooked with palm oil, hearty peanut-based sauces, and grilled, smoked or stewed river fish and bushmeat. Plantains, beans, okra and fiery pili-pili chilli round out the table. Simple, filling and generously shared from communal dishes, the food reflects the warmth and resourcefulness of life in the green heart of Africa.

What you'll find

• Gozo - the soft pounded cassava dough staple.
• The cassava-leaf stew - the savoury greens cooked with palm oil.
• The peanut sauces - the rich groundnut-based stews.
• The river fish - the grilled and smoked freshwater fish with pili-pili.

When to go

Year-round; Central African food is enjoyed across the country and through the diaspora. Soft cassava gozo with rich cassava-leaf and peanut stews, and grilled river fish, are the staples to seek out.

Good to know

Central African cooking is hearty and staple-based, built on cassava, greens and river fish, so its charm lies in warm, rich flavours and communal sharing more than variety. As a wholesome, generous tradition of the forest and river, from soft gozo to cassava-leaf stews and grilled fish, though, Central African cuisine is a genuine and satisfying taste of the region.

Nearby

The markets and eateries of Bangui, and diaspora communities abroad, serve it.