Ghana's local foods can compete with global fine dining - Isaac Okpoti Adjei

Ghana’s locally sourced foods have the potential to be transformed into world-class fine dining experiences.

According to Isaac Okpoti Adjei, General Manager of Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel, players in the food industry must rethink the perception of indigenous cuisine and explore innovative ways to elevate local dishes.

Speaking at The GreenStay Initiative in Accra on July 10, 2026, under the theme “Healthy Food Options: Not an Option,” he said Ghanaian foods are often undervalued despite their nutritional benefits and ability to meet international culinary standards.

“A lot of our local food can actually be turned into fine dining. It is about the quantity and the balance that you create. You make it a practice; it is not just about serving a huge quantity of food,” he said.

He noted that many people associate healthy food with expensive restaurants, but traditional Ghanaian meals consumed by previous generations were largely natural, farm-sourced and contributed to healthier lifestyles.

“As most of the panellists emphasised today, our local foods are actually very healthy. What we see as healthy and expensive, one might think is fine dining, where you go to very expensive restaurants to eat. But if you look at what our mothers and grandmothers in our villages were eating, they were much healthier because they sourced their food directly from farms,” he said.

He highlighted a Ghanaian cuisine event held in June, where locally sourced ingredients were used to create a fine dining experience, demonstrating that indigenous foods can be elevated beyond traditional presentations.

The General Manager encouraged players in the food industry to explore innovative ways of using local ingredients to develop nutritious menus capable of competing on the global culinary stage.

DR/MA

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