Adjo Honsou’s food truck Fufu n’ Sauce has become a favorite in the St. Louis region with its offerings of traditional West African dishes. Honsou’s food introduces foodies to the bold flavors of West Africa and brings nostalgia to newer Americans that have been away from their country of origin for some time.
Though Honsou didn’t go to culinary school, she learned how to cook with love from an early age.
“Being from African culture, being born and raised in my home country of Togo, cooking was just part of the day to day when it comes to being a girl,” she said. “I grew up cooking with my grandma with my aunties in the kitchen.”
When Honsou moved from Togo to the United States at 15 years old, she missed the warmth and communal experience of cooking dishes like palm nut soup, jollof rice, egusi and fufu — a staple in West African cuisine. She also endured the all-too-common experience of young immigrants being ridiculed for their sack lunches because the food was unfamiliar to other students.
After graduating college, Honsou started to share her home cooking with friends at pop-ups, and it was her good friend Tamika that encouraged her to up the ante. That’s where the idea for the food truck came into view. In just two years, Honsou grabbed the attention of PBS’ reality cooking competition show “The Great American Recipe.” The home trained chef is representing St. Louis — and Togo — in the show’s third season. Honsou competes against seven other contestants in the season premiere on June 17 at 9 p.m.
“The Great American Recipe [gives] a national platform for people to learn and know what fufu is. So then a high school kid in the middle of Iowa sees this on TV, and the next African child in high school doesn't have to eat fufu in the bathroom,” Honsou said. “All of a sudden, it becomes the norm or at least some level of exposure is brought to it. That is the biggest part for me.”
For more with Adjo Honsou, including her latest venture into spice and curry production, the rhythm behind making fufu and times where she made customers cry (in a good way!), listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or by clicking the play button below.
Related Event
What: Great American Recipe Premiere Party with FUFU n' Sauce
When: June 17, 7 - 9 p.m.
Where: Stupp Center in Tower Grove Park (3616 Southeast Drive St. Louis, MO 63110)
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Ulaa Kuziez, Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Roshae Hemmings is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
