In this addition to Graffeg’s beautifully produced range of small cookery books, Maggie Ogunbanwo and other members of the Welsh BAME community offer ‘a collection of thirty recipes celebrating food as a language through which those settling in unfamiliar communities have been able to reach out, communicate and share.’ Contributors include professional chefs, such as Ogunbanwo herself and Bridgend-based Peter Marezana, as well as members of non-profit groups, like the Cardiff-based charity Women Connect First and the Syrian Dinner Project in Aberystwyth.Reflecting the diversity of the Welsh BAME community, this aptly named book offers recipes (all of which are accompanied by wonderful, mouth-watering photos by Huw Jones) from a wide sweep of countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Bali, Bangladesh, Egypt, Syria, Barbados, Jamaica and Colombia. It really is a glorious melting pot, in so many ways. Each recipe has a short introductory paragraph in which the contributor talks about traditions, personal memories and anecdotes, and family associations, so that the focus is not simply on food, but also on the culture and connections that surround it. The book is divided into three sections – Starters & Soups, Mains, and Desserts & Drinks – containing a good mix of some simple dishes that take just a few minutes to prepare, and others with longer lists of ingredients and longer preparation and cooking times. There is also a fairly balanced combination of meat- or fish-based, vegetarian and vegan recipes – sometimes with easy options for adding or excluding meat and fish. Some ingredients might be difficult to find locally, particularly in rural areas, so you might need to think ahead and source them online, though the contributors sometimes suggest more readily available alternatives. Several of the recipes specify particular ingredients sold by contributors’ own outlets – for example, for Charmaine and Earl Smikle’s Three-Bean Bajan Croquettes, you’ll need to get some Bajan seasoning from Earl’s Kitchen (which produces ‘artisan Caribbean cooking sauces to bring sunshine to every meal’), and for Maggie Ogunbanwo’s Quick Chicken Jollof Rice, you’ll need Maggie’s Spice Up Chicken and Maggie’s This and That mix from Maggie’s Exotic Foods (which sells ‘a range of exotic homemade products including authentic spice mixes and pastes’). In this way, The Melting Pot serves not just to encourage us to bring world food into our own kitchens, but also to spotlight BAME enterprises in Wales. I would’ve loved a few extra pages at the end of the book offering short biographies of the contributors, and providing addresses and links for their physical and online outlets, which would save readers a lot of time spent on online searches.But the browsing was fun – both online and through the book, which has something for everyone. I think I’m going to be starting with Peter Marezana’a Spinach Lasagna accompanied by his Tuscan-Style Jamboree and Un-beet-able Salad. Or perhaps Justina John’s Lamb Pilau Rice with Kachumbari Salad. Or… It’s making my mouth water just thinking about it.
