Aid in Action
Dairy Association Cheese and Wine Festival Educates Consumers
Local celebrity 'Ready, Steady, Cook' competition attracts crowds
Nairobi, Kenya
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Monday, September 17, 2007
Photo: Janet Bland
A top reporter from KTN puts together a cheese masterpiece during the Celebrity Ready, Steady, Cook Competition.
Despite rainy and overcast weather on September 15th, a crowd of over 1,500 festival goers turned out for the Eastern and Southern Africa Dairy Association (ESADA) sponsored 2nd Annual Wine and Cheese Festival at the Carnivore grounds in Nairobi. The event was held in conjunction with a cheese making training workshop for local cheese makers, taught by Mr. Kobus Mulder, a prominent cheese maker from South Africa. Mr. Mulder also served as the head judge for the annual cheese competition. The festival included exhibitors of Kenyan produced cheese and dairy products as well as importers of wine and international cheeses who had “tastings” and wines for sale.
Following last year’s successful festival, this year’s event expanded opportunities to raise awareness of cheese products and to improve quality and packaging. Dr Kipkirui Lang’at, Executive Director of ESADA, explained, “People in this region consume milk mainly in liquid form and we’re trying to educate them about the variety of other options. This year, in addition to cheese we’re also promoting yogurt. We believe the festival will now be an annual affair and we hope to use it to tantalize the taste buds of festival visitors.”
During the festival celebrity guests took part in a cooking competition using cheese as the main ingredient, attracting large crowds of onlookers who had a chance to try the resulting ‘gourmet’ dishes. Hot 96 FM, a local radio station, broadcast the event live from the festival, which also featured a popular jazz band. This year Brown’s Blue Cheese was selected as the best cheese product in the competition. Meru Central Dairy Yoghurt under the Mount Kenya Fresh brand name won first place for the best yogurt as well as the best overall dairy product.
Photo: Janet Bland
Customers sample cheeses at the Happy Cow Exhibit during East and Southern Africa Dairy Association's 2nd Annual Cheese and Wine Festival.
Besides showcasing Kenyan cheeses, the festival provided the ability to match local milk suppliers with cheese producers. Last year the Raka cheese company was able to provide an outlet for farmers in Kenya’s Central Province, who produce around 3,000 liters of goat milk every day. Raka used the festival as an opportunity to launch its brand of original, garlic and black pepper goat cheeses, which received a warm welcome from customers.
Eldoville Farms competed again this year after winning 1st place trophies for Mild Cheddar and Mozzarella in last year’s competition. Lorraine Otiende from Eldoville Farms said, “The competition has really helped our company by boosting sales. This year people have come from all over East Africa to find new products.”
Dr. Langat is hopeful that next year’s festival will build on the successes of the first two years. He said, “Many of our competitors were able to improve their products after last year’s competition. We hope to eventually provide apprenticeships to South Africa dairy companies so that the learning process continues.”
ESADA was formed under USAID/East Africa’s Regional Agricultural Trade Expansion Support (RATES) program to forge Private/Public sector partnerships and provide market information in the dairy sector within the region. USAID/EA provided the start up funds for the Association and continues to support it both financially and technically.