Uganda has the best food – Chef James Busingye

James Busingye

Chef James Busingye has been a professional chef for 24 years.

He is the mind behind many popular brunch menus such as Silo Day-cation and other offerings at popular hangouts and hotels in Kampala.

Quick Talk sat down with him to explore his journey, food-and-drink pairings and the thinking behind the menus readers love.

Many thanks for joining us today. Who is Chef James?

I am James Busingye, a professional chef who has been in the industry since 2001. That is over 24 years now.

**Oh my… we were still in diapers! **

*[Laughs] *Young people! Yes, my journey began in 2001. I first worked at Hotel Equatorial as an outsourced helper.

I quickly fell in love with the kitchen and decided to upskill by studying for a diploma in Hotel Management. After that I worked at Hotel International in Muyenga and then Fairway Boutique Hotel.

Those two years gave me solid experience, especially in Indian and Chinese cuisines.

**How did you actually start pairing dishes with alcoholic drinks? **

The pairing journey began at Sheraton, where I cooked a lot of French and Italian dishes that already involved alcohol. That experience showed me how to connect the two.

After that, companies started approaching us to match their drinks with food. We also created theme nights such as wine-downs, whisky downs, food-pairing evenings and wine-tasting days, and the practice has continued ever since.

Well, the more exposure you get, the more you realize food and drinks naturally go together. That kind of knowledge teaches you how to make a drink and a dish rhyme. The cuisine itself determines the drink. Wines work with certain dishes, while others pair better with liqueurs, tequila, whisky and so on.

Any favourite food pairing?

That is a tricky one, because I have a number of them. But I am especially fond of pairing a well-aged expression of luxury tequila such as Don Julio Blanco, Anejo, or Reposado or any other bold brand. However, the pairing has to be done carefully, so that it does not go south.

**What are some of your most memorable moments in the culinary journey? **

Moving from Hotel Equatorial to Hotel International, then Fairway and later to Sheraton Hotel during CHOGM [the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in Kampala in 2007].

Those periods brought me the most exposure, skills and extra training from different chefs.

**How did you start working on the envied Silo Daycation? **

I should mention that I am also a restaurant consultant. It is my side work. I help with menu improvement, menu design, production, training and supervision.

In short, I act as a quality consultant; covering recruitment, menu engineering, training and oversight. For Silo, the directors contacted me when they were opening the business and asked for my services. As they say, the rest is history.

How do you keep the food Ugandan and attractive to locals while still making it a bit exotic?

[Laughs] The secret is in mixing. At the Silo brunch, for example, I add some Ugandan dishes alongside the more exotic ones. It does not have to be 100 per cent Ugandan.

I just switch things around so they feel familiar. The most important thing is understanding what people actually want.

**How do you understand what people want? **

Simple. Understand the eating culture of the people. Different areas have different habits. If a community loves boiled food, you learn that.

You have to stay open-minded. Here in Uganda we generally love meats, cabbage and hearty, heavy meals.

**How do you rate Ugandan food? **

Uganda is a very rich country; rich in culture and in food. We have variety and we are not limited. In many other places you face shortages of fresh ingredients to play with. That is why I say Ugandan food is the best.

**What is that one food you cook on any day and know everyone will enjoy? **

Wow! I see you are trying to find my favourite dish, but I do not have one. I cook according to people’s tastes. I play around with their preferences. If someone loves citrus dishes, I make those.

You mentioned you like rice. I can create thirty different rice dishes: Arabic, Mexican, East African, Jollof, American… I just need to know which style you prefer.

**Would you recommend being a chef to your daughter or son? **

I would first ask whether they are passionate about cooking. I do not regret being a chef and I can highly recommend it, because you get to do what you enjoy.

On top of that it brings a wealth of other experiences such as accounting, planning and management that many people do not see. They only think of cooking and a salary.

**Is there anything you would like to tell someone who is thinking about becoming a chef? **

Every profession can wear you out if you lack passion. One of the biggest reasons chefs leave the industry is that commercial cooking is challenging, hectic and often traumatizing.

If you are not passionate, the chances of surviving are slim. Do it out of love, not just for survival. There is a major challenge lately. We have very beautiful restaurants but few have great food.

**What could be the problem? **

These days most proprietors invest heavily in aesthetics and forget that the chef makes or breaks a restaurant. It is really a priority issue that business owners need to correct if they want to stay in the game longer.

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