Characteristic products
Cameroonian gastronomy uses various tubers such as manioc, yam and sweet potato, not forgetting macabo and taro, two root vegetables from the same family whose large, heart-shaped leaves are eaten. Cassava, yam and squash leaves are also appreciated, alongside other plants native to Central Africa, often unknown in Europe. Millet, sorghum and corn are widely used in the north of the country, which is drier and better suited to growing these cereals. Plantains are also widely consumed, Cameroon being one of the world's largest producers.
Other vegetables include tomatoes, cabbages, carrots, African eggplants, peppers, green beans, not forgetting okra, a small vegetable similar to a green chili pepper but with a slight zucchini taste, whose very viscous juice is appreciated for thickening sauces. Onion, garlic and ginger are common herbs, not to mention spices often unknown in Europe. These include odjom (dried ginger leaves), maniguette or Guinea pepper, messep (a cousin of basil, also known as kotimandjo or issim) and the hiomi or garlic tree, whose fragrant bark is used. Pèbè or Gabonese nutmeg has a tangy, pungent taste. Njangsa or akpi seeds are also used as a thickener. Esesè, or "4-sides", is a dried pod used as an aromatic and medicinal plant. Penja white pepper, from the eponymous commune, is the first African product to benefit from a PGI, since 2013. Finally, achu is a blend of spices used to make taro with yellow sauce. The country's star sauce, Maggi aroma, is found on every table. Maggi bouillon-cubes are widely used in cooking to spice up sauces.
In Cameroon, we eat beef, goat, mutton, poultry, zebu and more. Pork is more prevalent in the south and along the coast, while the northern half of the country is more Muslim. In the more isolated regions, particularly in the heart of rural areas on the edge of the jungle, you'll find plenty of game or bush meat: monkey, porcupine, antelope, crocodile, etc. Although the experience may seem tempting for the more courageous, it's best to avoid it: the traceability and packaging of this meat is often uncertain, and it sometimes carries highly dangerous parasites. It should also be noted that some species hunted locally are threatened with extinction.
There's a whole range of restaurants where you can be served all day long, and it's rare for a customer to be turned away. Start with the small gargotes or "circuits" where you can eat typical Cameroonian dishes, often outside on plastic tables in a joyfully cacophonous atmosphere with the best local hits playing on the radio. Mid-range restaurants often offer European and African food. The menu is diversified and prices are affordable. The meal is usually a single, hearty dish, or a buffet. The grand restaurants are the most luxurious, and are generally located in the big hotels and upmarket districts of Douala and Yaoundé. The food here is mostly exclusively European - sometimes Asian - in an often chic, air-conditioned setting, with a very quiet musical ambience. These restaurants are often run by Europeans, who tend to align their prices with those of their countries of origin, for the expatriate and wealthy Cameroonian clientele who frequent them.
Classics of Cameroonian cuisine
Although local gastronomy features recipes specific to each region, there are a number of dishes that are found more widely throughout the country. First and foremost, there are the ubiquitous starch-based side dishes. In Cameroon, the term "couscous" refers to a dense dough made from corn flour, molded into a ball shape and served with sauces. Water fufu is similar, but made with cassava. The main course is chicken DG, a stew of chicken with various vegetables (carrots, peppers, green beans) flavored with herbs and bouillon-cube, served with plantain French fries. Created in the 1980s, it goes by the name of "DG" or "Directeur Général", as it was traditionally reserved for high-ranking individuals, although it can be found everywhere today. The same is true of soyas, finely spiced beef skewers that are prepared especially in markets. Peanut sauce, garnished with meat or fish, is a common accompaniment in many West African countries.
In central Cameroon, and particularly in Yaoundé, you'll find kpwem, a stew made from crushed cassava leaves mixed with palm nut pulp. It's usually accompanied by manioc and macabo. It's a very nourishing dish, and the staple diet of the majority of the population. Nam owondo is a dense peanut paste flavored with dried shrimp and cooked in foil, which is eaten with cassava. Another Bétis specialty, n'fian ndo'o, is a sauce made from the kernel of the wild mango, which is mashed and simmered with various spices. It is usually served with fish. Don't forget the okra sauce - made with the eponymous vegetable - topped with beef. Okok is a dish based on gnetum leaves cooked in palm nut juice, with the addition of crushed peanuts, crab and sometimes beef. The classic mbongo'o tjobi, or ebony sauce, is prepared with fish simmered in a mixture of spices, giving the dish its unique black color.
In Douala and the Littoral province, the most popular traditional dish is undoubtedly ndolé. Made from the leaves of vernonia, a local shrub, it's an inexpensive (if complicated to cook) dish. To lose their bitterness, the leaves are boiled several times in salted water, then fresh peanut paste and spices are added, along with meat, smoked fish or shrimps. Ndolé is accompanied by fried plantains and manioc. Another classic, bobolo, is made from crushed and fermented cassava, wrapped in a long cylindrical leaf and then steamed. A traditional cake of the Bassa people, mintoumba is made from fermented cassava and red palm oil. Steamed, it is served as a side dish with a sauce, or as a snack. Nkôno ngond is made with "African pistachio" paste, which are actually pumpkin seeds. The paste is steamed in banana leaves. It's a common dish for special occasions.
In the western part of the country, in the Bamilékés region, the typical dish is nkui, a very sticky soup prepared with young lapullier shoots. Tapsi is a dish of green bananas cooked in a roasted peanut sauce, to which fish or meat can be added. Another sauce dish, kondre, contains green plantain with goat, beef or pork. Akin to mintoumba, koki is a kind of steamed cake made from cowpeas or corn beans, mashed and mixed with red palm oil and spices. The whole thing is cooked in banana leaves. A very similar dish, kouakoukou, is made from grated macabo tubers steamed in kolatier leaves. It is systematically served with a white peanut paste-based sauce with smoked, fried or fresh fish, or beef. It is quite similar to tactac, made with corn dough and flavored with herbs and chopped baby greens, which give it its green color.
The most emblematic dish of the northwest, in the Bamenda region, is taro with yellow sauce, made from mashed taro, topped with a sauce flavored with achu and bound with palm oil. The dish is usually garnished with meat. There's also njama-njama or kati-kati, a vegetable cooked in palm oil and accompanied by boiled green bananas. The south is best known for its grilled Lobé shrimp and smoked river fish. In the south-west, eru is a must. This stew contains leaves of the same name, which are simmered for a long time with crayfish, smoked fish and beef skin. Ekwang is made with grated macabo rolled in the leaves of the same plant and simmered for a long time. With its drier climate, the north of the country often offers specialties based on millet, corn and sorghum. Baskodjé, for example, is a stew of okra and beef with tomato.
Desserts and drinks
Desserts in Cameroon, as in many Central African countries, are quite different from those in Europe, and there are few sweets to be found. The most notable is the lefombo, a small sugar doughnut sold in the streets by small itinerant vendors for a derisory price. In major cities such as Yaoundé and Douala, you'll find establishments offering more Western-style pastries. The country produces a wide variety of excellent tropical fruits: mangoes, bananas, pineapples, papayas, oranges, grapefruits, melons and more. Cameroon was the world's fifth-largest cocoa producer in 2023, and a major producer of coffee and tea. You can order an espresso or hot chocolate for breakfast or after a meal. But these are mainly served in hotels and "big" restaurants in the country's cities, as Cameroonians are not big consumers of hot beverages, even if coffee remains locally popular. Bissap, an infusion of hibiscus roselle, served iced, is very popular.
Cameroonians generally drink beer (33 Export, Mützig, Beaufort, Guinness, Castel, Castle, Tuborg, Isenbeck, Amstel, etc.) and you can find it everywhere, even in the smallest villages in the countryside. Cameroon's breweries represent one of the country's leading industries, and beer remains an inexpensive beverage. In the north of the country, Cameroonians traditionally make millet beer, known as bili-bili. Corn beer, known as kwacha, is found mainly in the Littoral region, most often in popular drinking establishments. Cameroonians also drink wine, but especially in the big cities, where it can serve as a social marker when imported. The main local wine is matango, a palm or raffia wine served mainly in the West, Centre and Littoral regions. It is whitish in color and ferments very quickly. Distilled palm wine is called odontol. This strong alcohol is produced by hand. Although its sale is illegal, it is tolerated. It should be seriously avoided, however, as its distillation, which is sometimes incomplete, can produce highly toxic methyl alcohol.
