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Stories

Taste of Sierra Leone

Across the Table
Interviews with Welcome Merchant food vendors at Powerhouse Lane. Words by Ann Ding and Shivika Gupta
A smiling person stands behind a food stall displaying trays of baked goods in a glass warmer. Drink bottles and condiments are on the counter in front of them.
Stories
Taste of Sierra Leone

Powerhouse Lane was a celebration of the culinary and musical landscape of Western Sydney presented across four flavoursome nights on George Street at Parramatta Lanes in late October 2024.

As part of the festival, Powerhouse commissioned fbi.radio’s Snack Time team, led by presenters and food enthusiasts Ann Ding and Shivika Gupta, to conduct an interview series with Marjorie Tenchavez, founder of award-winning social enterprise Welcome Merchant, alongside four renowned local food vendors. Presented here is Across the Table: Taste of Sierra Leone.

Powerhouse Lane is proudly funded by the NSW Government in association with City of Parramatta Council and Powerhouse.

‘I went to Flemington last year and they had an African Eat and Dance Festival and there was no Sierra Leonean stall there … that’s how the idea came about.’
Kadiatu Bangura
A hand holds a white tray filled with various foods, including a rice dish, a pastry, two fried balls and a piece of meat, against a colourful geometric mural.
A display case filled with four neat rows of golden brown pastries and fritters, with deep-fried balls at the top and flatter pastries along the bottom.
A person in a red top with an apron serves customers at a busy food stall which features a display of pastries. In the background is a diverse crowd of people.
A vendor with short hair and wearing a black top stands behind a glass display filled with four neat rows of pastries and fritters at a busy food stall.

Like many much-loved restaurants around the world, Taste of Sierra Leone is a family-run enterprise. Kadiatu Bangura, her twin sister, aunt and mum joined forces to fill a gap in the culinary scene of Sydney after they noticed an absence of Sierra Leonean cooking. In this interview, Kadiatu gives a fascinating look into the cuisine of one of West Africa’s smallest countries.

Inspired by rich memories of a lifetime of cooking for loved ones and the comforting community meals shared during Muslim celebrations such as Eid, Kadiatu and her family gave visitors to their Powerhouse Lane stall a similarly joyful and delicious eating experience, serving bottom belleh pie, jollof rice and Sierra Leonean sweets.

More

A smiling vendor who is wearing a black shirt and patterned headscarf holds a large metallic tray above their head in a festive food stall setting.

Yummy Yummy Knafeh

Across the Table
A vendor in gloves slices a large roasted meat piece on a wooden cutting board, with various kitchen tools and containers in the background.

Sydney Cebu Lechon

Across the Table
A bustling outdoor market scene filled with a crowd of people, illuminated by the low-lying sun, and with colourful streamer decorations overhead.

Marjorie Tenchavez

Across the Table
[Alt text] Three smiling people pose behind a stall with jars of beverages and a menu board featuring chrysanthemum iced tea and fried ice cream from ‘Sangee’s Kitchen’.

Sangee’s Kitchen

Across the Table
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