First Look: Try Nine Takes on Jollof Rice at This Flemington Restaurant

“I don’t know if you’ve heard of the jollof wars?” Evette Quoibia asks. I haven’t, I admit, but she graciously explains.

“At the moment, there’s a war going on about who has the best jollof rice,” she says, referencing the beloved, tomato-spiked rice dish popular across West Africa. It’s a friendly rivalry – a years-long debate, mostly online, over which country’s version reigns supreme.

But Quoibia isn’t one for conflict. Depending on the day’s specials, at her new Flemington restaurant Jollof Vibe, you’ll find around nine different takes on the dish.

The Nigerian-style jollof, the version likely most familiar to a majority of Melbourne diners, is made with spiced, tomato-rich basmati rice served alongside habanero-spiced turkey. There’s also a Ghanaian jollof made with tomatoes, onions and ginger paired with grilled chicken. Then there’s the Liberian version – a nod to Quoibia’s heritage – that features vegetables, beef and prawns. Both the Ghanaian and Liberian jollofs are made with jasmine rice and come with sweet fried plantains.

There’s also a one-pot variation inspired by Senegalese thieboudienne , with fried fish, cabbage, pumpkin and eggplant. Other spins include spaghetti jollof (where noodles stand in for rice), a vegetarian option made without meat stock, and Wisdom Jollof, a Quoibia original of stir-fried jollof rice with eggs and fresh tomato.

In addition to jollof, there’s Liberian chuck rice and gravy, made from rice laced with molokehya (a leafy green) and served with meat and seafood stew. And egusi, a Nigerian beef and melon-seed stew, served with fufu , a pounded sticky dough.

Quoibia’s passion for cooking started early. As the eldest of 10, she often took charge in the kitchen. “When other kids would play with toys, I’d be cooking,” she says. Before Jollof Vibe, she ran La Gout Afrique, a Reservoir milk bar with West African food and convenience-store snacks. She says jollof rice was always the crowd favourite, which is what inspired her to open Jollof Vibe.

It started as a ghost kitchen and small restaurant in Kensington in February, but Quoibia found the business model unsustainable, mostly because of the large percentage delivery apps take from businesses, and closed it in April. She relocated, and on October 17, reopened in a new space with seating for around 50 diners.

Quoibia is also passionate about food education and sharing African foodways. She’s hosted West African food and culture events with local councils and universities, and earlier this year, she earned a Guinness World Record for the longest cooking marathon – cooking for over 140 hours straight to provide free community meals.

“I was born during the [First Liberian Civil] War and grew up during the war, so my education was affected a lot,” she says. “Society says you need to have a certain level of education in order for you to be successful and achieve something big. So when I found out about the cooking marathon, I had a bit of hope. I felt like this was within my ability to achieve.”

After officially receiving the record in March, Quoibia turned her focus back to Jollof Vibe. She says through the restaurant she’s able to continue her mission to foster education, connection and hope through food.

Jollof Vibe
268 Racecourse Road, Flemington

Hours:
Wed to Fri 4:30pm–11pm
Sat & Sun 1pm–11pm

jollofvibe.com.au