Kelewele at 2019 Vegandale at Randall’s Island Park
Rachel Laryea is the talented woman behind Kelewele, a Brooklyn based catering business that turns plantains into burgers, cookies, brownies, and even ice cream. Kelewele is a cultural lifestyle brand redefining plantains.
Many are curious about plantain dishes. We enjoyed the delicious phish cakes (or fish cakes) and two other dishes on a hot day at the Vegandale at Randall’s Island Park on Sept. 28, 2019.
Kelewele are spicy fried plantains coated in ginger, spices and mixed with groundnuts. They make lasagna, shepherd’s pie, vegan fish cakes, and meatballs.
The company makes a variety and some very unusual plantain ice cream flavors like Vanilla Ginger, Cookies ‘n Cream, Dark Chocolate, Vibranium (activated charcoal and vanilla), Moringa Chocolate Chip, Classic Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter Chocolate, Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge Brownie, and Plantain Pieces.
Rachel Laryea grew up in a Ghanaian home where plantains are a big stable. According to the Gates Foundation, Ghana is the number one producer of many of the plantains sourced.
When she was at NYU with limited funds at best, plantains were important for her nutrition and budget. After school, she landed a job at Goldman Sachs, however, her passion was in redefining the ways one eats plantains.
Rachel became vegan and felt plantains were her perfect food. She felt that plantains were more than on a side dish. Rachel believed that since people from Africa, South East Asia, and Latin America were already familiar with plantains, they would enjoy new dishes as a main course or desserts. She did not have a food background, and needed to experiment. At the same time, she earned two PhD degrees in African American Studies and Socio-Cultural Anthropology at Yale University.
The company has appeared at Curlfest, Vegandale, the James Beard Foundation, and in partnerships with BET International, The African Folk Art Museum, Black Vegan Fest, Aramark, and the NYC Mayor’s Office. The company will be at Afrochella in Ghana and other events featured in the country’s Year of Return Initiative.
Rachel won the GUBA Awards USA as the Black Star Recipient in 2019. GUBA recognizes and celebrates the efforts of game-changers, as a way to encourage the promotion of growth and innovation in Africa to the rest of the world. Many Heads of State, dignitaries and influencers from around the world attended the Awards in New York City.
More about these interesting plantain products can be found at kelewelenyc.com.
