So Simpson started with the people who would know African food the best. She went online to different African reserves and safari locations, and discovered many are popular wedding destinations. So, she fired off e-mails to their caterers.
She was elated when she received e-mails back with tips and recipes for re-creating African cuisine a world away.
"One told me about grilled prawn Mozambique," Simpson said, "others about curried chicken and the very popular sweet potato."
She and Holihan have put together their favorite African dishes into an elaborate menu that seeks to represent the various regions of the second largest continent in the world. It will feature a cold continental table, specially designed entrees and decadent desserts.
"Some (regions) were harder to replicate than others, and we used African tastes to put a spin on dishes," said Holihan, a professor at Atlantic Culinary Academy in Dover, N.H., who has worked with Simpson on large-scale catering jobs.
While creating the menu, Simpson said she realized a lot of the simple flavors of starch-loving Africa are considered "super foods" — high-fiber, vitamin and mineral foods optimal for health.
"Sweet potatoes and millet are holistic and big in Africa," said Simpson, who worked with a holistic chef last fall to bring healthier food selections into the regular Carry Out Cafe menu.
Blessed with some of the most fertile land in the world, the various regions of Africa yield everything from vegetables to a high proportion of milk and milk products. The natives' diet primarily consists of bananas, plantains, yams, sweet potatoes, as well as cassava and other tuberous roots. Dozens of types of nuts and grains serve as protein sources as well.
While the most traditional African dish is a rich casserole of meat, vegetables and spices simmered over a fire in a pot atop three stones arranged in a triangle, the cuisine of each region reflects indigenous traditions based on the diversity of the tribes and ethnic and social groups as well as varied styles of preparation.
In coastal Africa, in countries like Nigeria, for example, chilli, ginger, palm oil and okra reign supreme, while in western Africa, flaked, dried fish, mutton, yams and stews are favored. The eastern portion of the continent boasts millet, sorghum, bananas and milk curd.
Simpson said creating a foreign menu is a challenge she and her staff love to take on. For last year's Anna Jaques fundraiser, she roasted a full pig to re-create the feel of Hawaii.
"This is the most exciting part of catering," Simpson said. "Delving into a cuisine and doing the research, shopping until I drop trying to find the ingredients. It's the best."
Her goal is to introduce people to different cuisine from another culture.
"I hope people can try something new they wouldn't have otherwise and enjoy," she said.
A taste of Africa
Hors D'oeuvres
Prawn Mozambique
Peri-peri chicken with kaffir lime-cilantro sauce
Continental Cold Table Antipasto Station
Stuffed South African pepperdews
Spiced almonds
Yemiser Ethiopian lentil salad
North African Entrees
Djej Kdra Touimiya Moroccan chicken stew
Traditional couscous
South African Entrees
Ingelegde tilapia (whitefish poached in sweet curry and vegetable broth)
Nairobi barbecue beef tips
Dessert
White chocolate apricot cake
Animal-print safari cake
Fair trade Kenyan coffee
Tribal fundraiser
Get out your leopard-print sandals and tribal-influenced jewelry for Friday's safari for a cause.
In addition to a menu of African flavors, the evening to benefit surgical services at Anna Jaques Hospital in Newburyport will feature African music and dancers.
The fun takes place under a 12,000-square-foot tent at Salisbury Beach State Reservation, where guests will be greeted with a Senegali Sunshine — a custom cocktail — upon their arrival.
Louis Rubenfeld, co-chairman of the event, proposed the African theme the day after last year's Hawaiian-themed fundraiser for the hospital.
"I thought, it hadn't been done before and lo and behold, animal prints are popular this year," he said. "From my lips to God apparently, the safari theme has worked out well."
Choosing Paula Simpson's Carry Out Cafe to provide the food was a no-brainer, he said, given the spreads she has orchestrated for the hospital's past fundraisers.
African drummers from Berklee College of Music in Boston will transport partygoers from the shores of Salisbury Beach to the shores of Malindi, Tangier and the Seychelles Islands.
"This will be a fun evening and a great place to reacquaint with people you haven't seen in a while," Rubenfeld said
By Katie Curley
from newburyportnews.com
