19/02/2026
This week, TV5MONDE's Africa News program dedicated two segments to African spices. Two Africans living in France—Caline Biyong Dumas from Cameroon and Jacob N'Cho, a pastry chef from Ivory Coast—introduced our flavors to 2.7 million subscribers. Not one, but two, in a single week.
In the first segment, Caline Biyong Dumas, a Cameroonian based in France, presented Pèbè, garlic tree, and moringa: in infusions, in cooking, in a plantain raclette, and in a gluten-free plantain flour cake.
In the second segment, Jacob N'Cho, an Ivorian pastry chef based in Paris, unveiled his "Patience" entremet with Tipadipa pepper caramel, a variety cultivated with neem and moringa leaves in Ivory Coast, and a Paris-Abidjan cake with cashew praline and smoked African honey. Her cinnamon rolls with African cinnamon? Permanently sold out.
A Cameroonian woman and an Ivorian man. On the world's largest French-language television network. Showing the world what our cuisines contain. It was beautiful to see.
I felt compelled to add to this, because behind the taste, there's science, and it deserves to be known.
- The Pèbè that Caline puts in her infusions contains 60% alpha-phellandrene: a compound that activates your Natural Killer lymphocytes, the cells in your body that detect and eliminate viruses before you even get sick. It awakens your immune system through biochemistry.
- The garlic tree she uses in her raclette contains allicin and sulfur compounds: the same antimicrobial active ingredients as fresh garlic, but more concentrated. And when combined with Rondelles in our traditional sauces, the effect is powerful. A 2014 study documented amplified cytotoxic effects in vitro on cancer cells.
-The Tipadipa pepper used by Mr. Jacob? It's a unique variety in the world. Grown by Lady Melzah in the Gagnoa region of Ivory Coast, in soil enriched with neem and moringa leaves. This terroir gives it an aromatic profile that other peppers lack: fresh, green, with a hint of nutmeg on the finish.
In all honesty, my experts, how many Africans know that this Ivorian pepper is delivered to the Élysée Palace? How many know that a French consultant created the world's first culinary essential oil from this African spice?
An African pepper. Offered as a premium product beyond our borders; even before it was known at home.
Doesn't that remind you of anything?
Africa produces 70% of the world's cocoa. Ivory Coast and Ghana alone supply almost half of the world's cocoa production. The chocolate industry generates $100 billion annually. The African countries that cultivate these beans receive only 6%. And the farmers who harvest them? 2%.
Today, a high-end chocolate bar made with Ivorian cocoa costs between 8 and 15 euros in Europe. The farmer who grew that cocoa received a few cents.
The same pattern is emerging with our spices.
It's worth noting that the global spice market will reach $27 billion by 2030. And in line with this, McCormick, the world's largest spice manufacturer, is already present in Africa, while the Kerry Group (an Irish multinational) has just opened a flavorings factory in Rwanda. Michelin-starred chefs in Paris are incorporating our spices into their menus. European laboratories are creating essential oils and dietary supplements from our spices...
With cocoa, we didn't see it coming.
With spices, we still have a choice.
And this choice comes from knowledge.
Knowing the TASTE of our spices isn't enough. We need to know their VALUE, composition, benefits, and contraindications. Basically, their entire biochemistry.
That's why I spent nearly 10 years writing The Bible of African Condiments, Sauces, and Spices: 537 pages. 700+ scientific references.
Each spice is documented: composition, benefits, contraindications, studies.
→ https://payhip.com/b/QbR9m
Sources:
- ICCO / Business & Human Rights Resource Centre: Cocoa Revenues Africa - Fogang H.P.D. et al., Chemistry & Biodiversity, 11, 161-169, 2014
- Aymeric Pataud: Patience Pepper Essential Oil, 2025
- Josie-K, The Bible of African Condiments and Spices, Publishroom, 2025
What our ancestors knew, science confirms. I document and share it.
Josie-K ✨ Biochemist | Tropical Nutrition Expert since 2010 | 19 published books