Last night I had gango Ethiopian style. They have fresh beef hanging on the right side of the restaurant. You choose your preferred cut, and it is barbecued/braaied, then served sizzling on a metal plate with fire underneath.
I had it with Injera, Ethiopia’s national staple food — a soft, spongy flatbread made primarily from teff flour, a highly nutritious ancient grain native to the Ethiopian highlands.
It is fermented for two to three days, giving it a slightly sour taste and a unique texture filled with tiny holes (called eyes) that absorb the sauces beautifully. Injera is to Ethiopians what sadza is to Zimbabweans.
I also tried their beer called St. George; it is smooth, , crispy, tasty, and easy on the tongue. St. George Beer is one of Ethiopia’s oldest and most beloved lagers, brewed by the St. George Brewery.
It was the first industrial brewery in Ethiopia, established in 1922 by a Belgian investor named Gaston Vanderhaegen and named after Saint George, the patron saint of Ethiopia.
St. George Beer is a national icon to Ethiopia, it is what Castle is to Zimbabwe and South Africa.
What I experienced with their version of gango, Injera, and St. George Beer reflects more than just Ethiopian cuisine; it represents the heartbeat of the country’s economy. That single restaurant alone serves seven carcasses of cattle a day.
These foods and drinks are produced locally, creating jobs for farmers who grow teff and barley, butchers who supply the meat, restaurant workers, and brewery staff. They sustain entire value chains that run from rural villages to urban markets.
The brewing of St. George Beer and the making of Injera also foster national pride and cultural identity, drawing tourists eager to experience authentic Ethiopian flavours. This cultural tourism brings in foreign currency while strengthening Ethiopia’s soft power across Africa.
I asked myself; why do we import maize when we have so much land in Zimbabwe? It comes down to one thing that I preach about daily, leadership! People want to see and experience an economy that is growing.