Tasty Tom, an enriched tomato mix and a trusted brand used in homes across Ghana, once again featured at the 2019 Jollof Festival, an exciting event which features vendors and gives people the platform to celebrate and enjoy Jollof.

Ahead of the Festival which took place at Memory Lane Park, World Jollof Day was celebrated on August 22 and Olam Ghana, in partnership with the Food Event Company, marked the day by donating cartons of Tasty Tom Enriched Tomato Mix to pupils of Future First Academy, an underprivileged first cycle school located in Agbogbloshie. Some 250 school children were all treated to a plate of Jollof and chicken to commemorate the day.

Tasty Tom Enriched Tomato Mix, an inevitable primary ingredient in most traditional Ghanaian meals, has become the preferred brand for the preparation of Jollof in Ghana, because of its thickness and rich colour that lends itself to the desired appearance and taste of  Jollof Rice.

“Apart from giving Jollof Rice that famous ‘jollof colour’ and that unique taste, as desired by both caterers and jollof lovers, Tasty Tom enriched tomato mix also delivers a nutritious meal as a result of its added fibre and vitamins A, D, E & K,” explained Miss Ewuresi Krampa, Brand Manager for Tasty Tom. 

The Festival was well attended by members of local communities, as an opportunity to eat and socialise. The day concluded with a cooking competition.

In recent years, Jollof rice has become the most topical food in both official and informal conversations on West African gastronomy, fuelled by long-standing competing claims by Ghanaians, Senegalese and Nigerians that they make the best Jollof and that the meal itself originated from their respective countries.

The “Jollof rivalry” is strongest between arch-rivals Ghana and Nigeria, which appears as a hot debate on social media channels. Ghana’s Jollof Festival was born out of the “Jollof rivalry”, the inaugural event of which was held in 2018 under the auspices of Tasty Tom Enriched Tomato Mix.

Tasty Tom is made in Ghana by Nutrifoods Ghana in an FSSC (Food Safety System Certification Scheme) accredited plant which is the largest in West Africa and also the first food manufacturing facility in the sub-region to earn international recognition for compliance in food safety standards.