We’ll prove that Madagascar’s food is just as animated as the hit movie

The Lemur House catering company, said Londoners’ perceptions of the country are still dominated by the animated children’s film franchise – and they're looking to change that

The organisers of a street food celebration of the exotic cuisine of Madagascar hope that it will help to finally put one of the world’s least understood countries on the map for Londoners.

The “Mad to Miss Madagascar” event in Cambridge Heath on June 17 will showcase Malagasy cooking and highlight how virtually every culinary culture is now represented in the world’s most diverse gastronomic capital.

As well as serving typical Malagasy dishes such as beef and coconut curry, grilled beef brochettes, and tuna samosas, the festival — part of the Evening Standard’s London Food Month — will feature live bands playing music from the island off the east coast of Africa. Madagascar-born Prisca Bakare, 26, one of the founders of The Lemur House catering company, said Londoners’ perceptions of the country are still dominated by the animated children’s film franchise.

Many even still believed “Madagascar” was a fictional island created by the film’s maker Dreamworks.

She said: “My mum and my auntie came here to live when I was four years old in the early Nineties and then everybody said, ‘I’ve never met anyone from Madagascar before’.

“Then the movie came out so at least people had heard of it. So I thought, why not do something about the food and the culture?… So we were the first to introduce Malagasy cooking in this country. Now awareness is growing.”

Malagasy cuisine is a melting pot of different influences, particularly Arabic, French and Indian, reflecting the waves of settlers who have arrived on the world’s fourth biggest island over the centuries. Ms Bakare said: “We will give people the full experience of Madagascar but in the heart of London with music, culture and presentations, and obviously the street food.”

She added that, despite the Indian influences, Malagasy food is not excessively spicy. She said: “Malagasy people don’t cook with chillis, we like to have it on the side like people in Britain would with ketchup or mayonnaise. The food is full of flavours and very fresh. We love meat so carnivores will definitely enjoy it.”

The event takes place at the Anchor of Hope Christian Fellowship church on Vyner Street from 5pm to 10pm on June 17 and is free to enter. Details of how to book will be available on londonfoodmonth.co.uk from May 2

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in