Attiéké (pronounced at-che-kay) is a traditional dish that’s made from fermented and ground cassava roots, and is similar in appearance to couscous. And, much like France did with Champagne and South Africa with rooibos tea, the Ivorian government is making moves to protect it, with an appeal to the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation.

According to an AFKInsider report, the Côte d’Ivoire staple is increasingly being produced outside the country and marketed under the same name but made using only part of the correct process, says government spokesman Bruno Kone. ‘The goal is to establish an international products and services marque.’

Doing so should also speed up the industrialisation process of production and create a true value chain around cassava.

Prepared properly, attiéké takes a couple of days to make from scratch and can be served in several ways. The most popular is attiéké poisson grillé – fried fish prepared with sliced tomato, onion and green pepper.

10 August 2016
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