African catering service launches in Fort St. John with pop-up community buffet

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Traditional African beats and the smell of Nigerian cuisine resonated through the hallways of Northern Lights College this weekend.

On September 27th, the new catering service A Taste of Africa welcomed North Peace residents with a free community buffet, as part of marketing research for the debutante company.

Oluchi Eguzozie, a former journalist in Nigeria, announced her intentions to put together a food service in Fort St. John earlier in 2025.

Eguzozie added the preparations for the event took about two weeks.

She said she was “blown away” with the crowd at the college, where there was standing room only for the dishes, and estimated 250 people came to have a taste.

“There are over 28 dishes that people could taste,” said Eguzozie. “When people RSVP’d, I tried to get them on the Google forum so I could get the data and I could understand what people actually want.”

“It is word of mouth and people just telling people, and look at what Facebook friends post [and] reposted. And I wasn’t expecting these numbers.”

Situated in the NLC cafeteria, guests sat down after signing in, later being called to line up according to numbered tables.

They then went around to sample Nigerian dishes,  ranging from snacks such as chin chin, which is reminiscent of shortbread, to favourites such as jollof rice, stir-fry rice, fufu soup, dishes including goat and chicken, and more.

Participants could review the food anonymously two ways: on paper by rating it one through five on a ballot, or by QR code for a Google review.

Going forward, Eguzozie says she will look at how the community – both those familiar with African cuisine and those who aren’t – sampled the wares.

“I have to go back to the drawing table and see how I can be better at this,” said Eguzozie.

The free community buffet took place on Saturday, September 27th. More details about A Taste of Africa is available at the company’s Facebook page.