Congo

In bustling markets and modest kitchens across the Republic of the Congo, the aroma of simmering stews and wood-fired breads tells a story older than the nation itself. Women—often the quiet custodians of culinary heritage—are leading a movement to preserve, adapt, and celebrate traditional Congolese cuisine. Their work is part preservation, part reinvention, and wholly an affirmation of cultural identity. These chefs, many trained in the kitchens of their mothers and grandmothers, carry recipes as living heirlooms. Passed down through decades, these instructions are rarely written, instead committed to memory and refined through practice. Dishes such as moambe—a rich, palm-oil stew often made with chicken—and fufu, the starchy accompaniment crafted...