Authentic Ghanaian home cooking in Accra with a local

Meet Geraldine

As the first daughter living with her grandmother and 10 young cousins, Geraldine was always the one who helped her grandmother cook. She grew up cooking and learned many of her family recipes from her grandmother and has not stopped cooking since. Geraldine feels most happy and content when she is making people happy with her food. She not only loves cooking but also teaching others how to cook and sharing her knowledge about the origins of food and how they came about. Geraldine also loves a house full of people, she gets reminded of the fun times she had cooking and feeding her cousins along with her grandmother! She is excited to share her passion and warmth with travelers visiting her country!

What to expect

Please note menu might vary. If there are particular dishes you are interested in trying, please include your request in the booking form.

In-home meal (1 - 12 guests) Geraldine lives in a well-lit, simple apartment in Amrahia, a suburb of Accra. She is an expert on making many types of Ghanaian dishes. She cooks most of the local dishes in the traditional way, just like how her grandmother taught her! She also learned to cook international meals by watching cooking shows on cable TV. Ghanaian's enjoy a rather simple, but flavorful cuisine. The majority of meals consist of thick, well-seasoned stews, usually accompanied by staple foods such as rice or boiled yams. Also, oils like palm-nut are used to cook the meal. A few traditional dishes that you can expect to be served at Geraldine’s home are groundnut or palm-nut soup or yam and spinach stew or jollof rice (rice cooked in gravy), kelewele (fried plantains seasoned with spices and nuts) and peanut brittle.

Cooking experience (1 - 12 guests) In your 1 hour Accra cooking class learn to cook two dishes from scratch. Geraldine will take you through each step in the cooking process. You will learn to make the main dish and appetizer. While you cook together, Geraldine will share stories of the dishes and the culture that surrounds them.

Market visit (1 - 12 guests) Visit a local market, Nima, during your guided market tour with your host Geraldine. This is not a large, typical market but a very local, neighborhood market where vendors are selling their produce along the street. You will get to see a variety of fruits, vegetables, spices and condiments used in Ghanaian meals. It can be chaotic especially on market days, but its a great place to see local activity and interact with vendors. You might buy a few ingredients from the market before returning to Geraldine's home for your cooking experience.

PERSONALLY VETTED REVIEW

A Traveling Spoon ambassador visited this host. Here is their personal review.

Geraldine was a lovely host and even after living in Ghana for over two years, I learned so much about the food. Geraldine’s warmth and passion for Ghana radiates in her home as well as her food. After you escape the traffic of the touristy city center, you will realize it was worth the trek as you join Geraldine for an afternoon of traditional Ghanaian recipes. This food journey will show you the real Ghana, and it is sure to make your taste buds happy. Geraldine will make you feel like family and the meal you cook together could feed you for days. Be warned, the leftovers are so good you won’t want to share! The groundnut soup is my favourite dish in Ghana and Geraldine’s ground soup was truly the best I have ever had. There was something so special about having her show us each step and filling us with history and stories along the way.

Veronica, Traveling Spoon Ambassador

Traveler reviews