Dried Fish Ice Cream, Anyone?

Move over, Salt & Straw: Tapiwa Guzha is a Zimbabwean molecular biologist whose Tapi Tapi ice cream store in Cape Town, South Africa, has been getting a lot of attention since he opened in October 2020. Combining his West African heritage with a scientist's fascination with flavor, Guzha's flavors are as unique as they come:

  • Salty kapenta dried fish, toffee, and scotch bonnet chile

  • Sun-dried blackjack greens and caramel

  • Malted millet

  • Hibiscus, clove, and anise

"This [is] ice cream for my identity, for other people's sake," Guzha said. "I think the [global] food story doesn't have much space for Africa ... unless we're looking at the generic idea of African food," he adds. "I'm not trying to appeal to the global universe -- I'm trying to help Black identities enjoy their culture on a more regular basis."

When a customer savors the earthy, nutty flavor of red finger millet, or the unique combination of sun-dried black eyed pea greens and a legume called tiger nut, or the salty sun-dried fish known as matemba, or even the chewy dried Mopane caterpillar, they step outside of the ordinary and embrace a deeper sense of their humanity.

Guzha uses ingredients and flavors from all over the African continent, and he never repeats the flavors of his more than 800 creations. For Guzha, the magic happens when taste transports someone home -- breaking down the assumptions of culture, social hierarchies, tribal affiliations, skin color, and, yes, even acceptable flavor combinations -- to tap into something deeper in the human psyche.

As a scientist, Guzha has access to unique ingredients and processes, and he is not afraid to experiment: "I don't really do the traditional idea of flavor pairings," says Guzha, who describes himself as a "scientist with a curious mind." "I make what I like and see what comes out. So I can literally combine any of these with whatever takes my fancy."

Consider the words of Isaiah 43:19:

See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland.

How willing are you to set aside the old and embrace the new? Where are the places in your life where you can create something new, transformational, and possibly even a little shocking?

Jesus was shocking. Are you?

Peace,

Jennie

Rev. Dr. Jennie A. Harrop