Local Knowledge: Peasant’s Paradice Proves That African Food Is More Than Spice and Jollof Rice

Dwight Alexander, the Zimbabwean-born, New Zealand-raised chef and owner of Peasant’s Paradice, is buzzing with energy. As I run through my standard battery of questions, he’s setting tables for evening service and ducking back into the kitchen to check on a large boiling pot, all while keeping an eye on the door.

Alexander’s energy and formidable multi-tasking abilities speak to the tenacity that’s kept Peasant’s Paradice alive over the years. From its pre-Covid days showcasing “peasant cuisine” from all around the world to its current status serving cuisines from across the African continent, Alexander has built something special.

“It’s an introduction to African cuisine,” Alexander tells Broadsheet. It means that diners can start from the south of the continent with Durban-style goat curry, before heading westward for Senegalese beef brisket served with okra, peanut curry and roti.

Alexander is determined that Peasant’s Paradice and other Perth African restaurants should be considered among the ranks of Tamba in Singapore, Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi in New York, and other African restaurants that have captured the zeitgeist.

So, while he’s serving fish rillettes inspired by his mum and "mumma’s chicken, coconut and black bean curry”, the menu isn’t soaked in diasporic nostalgia. He’s riffing on tradition by using brown instead of white teff in his injera, opting for a half ferment rather than a full ferment where needed, and playing with the sourness of his dishes.

Beyond the table, Peasant’s is emerging as an incubator for African talent in Perth. Alexander’s latest project, Follicle , brings food and art together. Inside his restaurant he displays five portraits, which are each connected to a story and a dish.

Art aside, “peasant” food is still at the heart of it all. His philosophy is simple: no matter where you’re from, everyone has their version of a goat stew, a hearty, comfort dish made from secondary cuts that’s gotten a community through all the hard times. It’s those dishes and that sense of community that keep the fires burning at Peasant’s Paradice.

Peasant’s Paradice
197 Brisbane Street, Perth
(08) 6113 8959

Hours:
Tue to Thu 5pm–8.30pm
Fri 4–9pm
Sat midday–2pm, 4pm–9pm
Sun midday–2pm, 4pm–8pm

peasantsparadice.com.au
@peasants_paradice
@dwightalexander