A week after the training program we conducted at the Natitingou Church, Uli and I were reflecting on how things had gone. She asked me how I saw my role at the program, and I told her that I had been the motor. Actually, I was the cook, but the effect was the same. People would come to lunch subdued and fatigued from the long sessions, but when they started eating, laughter and movement would break out everywhere!

This was the first time many of my African brothers and sisters had seen a man cooking. But nobody mocked me or looked down on me, and everybody was very appreciative. The day I made riz au gras, our local coworker said to me, “Do you know that many women don’t know how to make good riz au gras, especially without meat? Yours is great!” One lady said I would certainly cook my way to heaven, but I think she was just flattering me. Earlier, I had chased her away from the cooking place and lectured her about hygiene in the kitchen, since she was bathing her baby in a bucket right next to the faucet where my helper was filling the cooking pots.

To the men, I demonstrated that a man can be a good cook if he has the will. And I showed the women that you can cook food without drowning it in oil and taking all morning.

I really enjoyed my role at the training. During lunch break, we all sat together as a family, ate and visited and had a great time. I’m looking forward to the next one! —Toussaint Kouato

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