UPDATE: Nov. 7, 2024 — Dee Afolayan now runs a local business called "DeeBesties Nigerian Restaurant" located at 20 Main Street North — the former home of the National Cafe — in downtown Moose Jaw. You can find her Jollof rice and several other international options at the restaurant.
After arriving in Moose Jaw around three years ago, Dee Afolayan now wants to share what has been described as one of the most delicious rice dishes in Africa with her new community.
Considering the time it takes to prepare many traditional dishes, Afolayan wanted to find a way to make food preparation easier for families without a lot of time to spend in the kitchen. This includes cooking her signature dish of Jollof rice for her husband, who she said enjoys a helping almost every other day.
Jollof rice can take around two-and-a-half hours to fully prepare, which is simply not tenable given everybody’s busy schedules these days.
Following her dream of solving this food preparation time issue, Afolayan and her husband are now co-owners of a new business in Moose Jaw, Deebesties Inc.
A few of her products can now be purchased at the Coral Ethnic Market, which is an African food store now located at the Town ‘N’ Country Mall. She also sells some products through her online Etsy store.
Jollof rice is made from long-grain rice, tomatoes, chilies, onions, spices, and sometimes uses meat or other vegetables. The dish’s origins can be traced back to the Senegambian region and is popular today in many regions of Africa including Nigeria where Afolayan is originally from.
“It has a smoky taste with a… bit of spice to it, and it’s flavourful,” she said.
To find the ideal blend of flavours, Afolayan started to do some research and tried out a few variations to find a blend that she found most suitable.
“It’s a recipe I came up with myself,” she said, noting that the process took some time, but food preparation no longer has to.
Now that she has established a foothold in the local marketplace, Afolayan is hoping to stabilize the newly formed company and to make a name for herself in the community.
One way she hopes to further promote the business is by attending this year’s Sidewalk Days event as a food vendor.
“I’ll be selling the sauce and I’ll be selling Jollof rice and barbecue, so people can have a (taste of the product),” she announced.
DeeBesties Inc. is focused around the Jollof rice sauce at the moment.
Once established – which she said is going slowly but surely – Afolayan has big plans to expand her business beyond this solitary product.
Her goal is to see her products on shelves at major chain stores including Superstore and Wal-Mart.
“I plan to expand and make (it possible for) everyone (to) have it in their home – that’s the goal,” she said about the rice sauce.
She views the product as something that should be in every household, and states that the sauce is extremely versatile and could blend in well with your standard range of condiments.
“The sauce is versatile – it’s not just for rice. You can make barbecue chicken with it, you can make barbecue fish, you can use it with pasta… burritos… (and) it’s just very convenient,” she said.
Currently, Afolayan’s products are available for retail at one location in Regina and at the Coral Ethnic Market located at the Town ‘N’ Country Mall.
To visit her online Etsy storefront, visit Etsy.com and search for ‘DeebestiesFoodRange.’
Keep an eye out for Afolayan’s product on local store shelves and for more additions to her product line in the months and years to come.
