What’s the Tigray region like?
Tigray is very remote with lots of mountains; in some places, there aren’t even any roads. It ’s part of a developing nation, so there’s an element of poverty — more than 60% of people live in rural areas where life is very traditional. Yes, there are big modern cities scattered around, but even where there are options for modernity, people still [don’t choose that modernity] because the culture is something we cherish.
What are the classic flavours you’ll find there?
Tigarus [people from Tigray] are well known for cooking food with spices. We have a distinct spice mix called berbere, which can be made into a paste called dilik. Berbere is like a chilli powder but with over 15 ingredients, including garlic, cumin, onions, ginger, salt and pepper. Each family has their own recipe and t here’s pride around who makes the best one. There’s also something called tesmi, which is a really flavourful butter for cooking meat in. To make it, you melt butter
