Fulbright Hays GAP Cameroon 2009 - Concordia College
Cathy Kendrigan
Curriculum Project: Four culture lessons from Cameroon
Lesson 1: Cuisine
Objectives:
Intercultural
To become familiar with two typical Cameroonian dishes
To learn what type of training is required to become a professional cook in Cameroon
Linguistic
To improve listening comprehension
(exposure to speakers of French outside of France)
To practice vocabulary used in recipes
Level:
Intermediate to advanced
(Activities are geared toward intermediate students, but could be adapted for advanced students.)
Materials:
Video document (7 minutes): “Interview avec un cuisinier professionnel”
Study guide to accompany the video document
Websites for further study
Procedure:
Do the “Avant de visionner” activity as a lead-in to the video
Pass out the study guide for students to complete while watching the video
Go over any unfamiliar vocabulary in the vocabulary section
Show the video
Option 1: Show video segment by segment, discussing after each part
Option 2: Show complete video, discussing at the end
Show parts of the video again if necessary
Go over answers to the study guide
Follow-up Activities:
Have students explain (using props) in French how to prepare a favorite dish. Supply supplementary vocabulary as necessary.
Have students prepare a recipe card in French of a favorite dish. Include ingredients, preparation steps and a picture.
Enrichment:
Have students do further study on Cameroon and its cuisine
Make Ndolé (the recipe in the reference section is made with ingredients easily found in the U.S.)
Interview avec un cuisinier professionnel camerounais
A. Avant de visionner le clip
1. Quels sont quelques plats typiques de la région où vous habitez?
2. Complétez la grille avec le nom d’un ou deux plates typiques de chaque pays.
Pays / Platsla cuisine italienne
la cuisine chinoise
la cuisine mexicaine
la cuisine française
la cuisine allemande
3. Est-ce que vous mangez des plats ethniques en famille? Décrivez un de ces plats.
B. Pendant le visionnement du clip: Choisissez la bonne réponse.
1. Ce monsieur est______.
a) pâtissierb) cuisinier
2. Il a fait______de formation.
a) douze ansb) deux ans
3. Il a étudié la gestion et______en général.
a) l’hôtellerieb) l’agriculture
4. Il a aussi étudié la cuisine et______.
a) la pâtisserieb) la confisserie
5. Comme partie de sa formation, il a étudié la cuisine______et russe.
a) française, américaineb) française, italienne
6. Yaoundé, où il a fait sa formation, est la capitale______du Cameroun.
a) économiqueb) politique
7. Actuellement, il travaille dans______.
a) un hôtelb) dans un supermarché
8. Le mbongo-chobi est une spécialité______.
a) de l’Extrême Nordb) du Littoral
9. Le «chobi», c’est______.
a) le poissonb) la viande
10. Indiquez avec un X tous les ingrédients dont on a besoin pour faire le mbongo-chobi.
le poivronle sel
le poivre noir
le poivre blanc
la tomate
le poisson
11. Indiquez avec un X tous les ingrédients dont on a besoin pour faire le ndolé
les arachidesles oeufs
l’ail
l’huile
la viande fumé
les feuilles de ndolé
une arachide
12. Le ndolé est un plat______.
a) jaune et vertb) vert et blanc
13. Le ndolé se mange______.
a) froidb) chaud
14. Le ndolé se sert______.
a) tous les joursb) pour des occasions spéciales
15. Le ndolé se sert avec du manioc, de l’igname ou______.
a) des pommes de terreb) des pâtes
16. Oscar n’a pas continué ses études à cause______.
a) des problèmes d’argentb) de ses difficultés scolaires
17. Grâce à______, il a pu faire la formation de cuisinier.
a) un programme du gouvernementb) la générosité d’un oncle
18. À ce qui concerne ses enfants, Oscar______.
a) leur laisse choisir leur profession
b) préfère qu’ils deviennent cuisiniers
19. Au Cameroun, on parle______.
a) françaisb) français et anglais
20. À la fin de l’interview, Oscar encourage les élèves américains à______.
a) devenir cuisiniersb) étudier les langues étrangères
le mbongo-chobile ndolé
C. Vocabulaire utile
1. la formationtraining
2. l’hôtelleriehotel business
3. la gestionmanagement
4. le stageinternship
5. le platdish
6. le mbongoCameroonian spice ressembling nutmeg
7. le Littoralcoastal province of Cameroon
8. écraserto crush
9. mijoterto simmer
10. le ndolébitter green leafy vegetable native to Cameroon
11. la feuillesleaves
12. amerbitter
13. l’ail (m.)garlic
14. l’huile (f.)oil
15. fumésmoked
16. l’arachide (f.)peanut
17. le maniocplant with tuberous roots (used in tapioca)
18. l’igname (f.)yam
19. l’Étatstate (the government)
D. À vous!
1. Vous êtes un(e) des finalistes sur la version française de l’émission “Top Chef”. La dernière épreuve: Expliquezcomment préparer un de vos plats favoris. Parlez des ingrédients et expliquez les démarches nécessaires pour faire ce plat. N’oubliez pas d’utiliser des accessoires pour rendre votre démonstration plus intéressante!
2. Vous participez à un concours de cuisine. Écrivez une carte de recette pour un des vos plats préférés. Faites une liste des ingrédients et expliquez les démarches nécessaires pour préparer ce plat. Ajoutez une image à votre recette.
E. Pour enrichir vos connaissances
Renseignements généraux sur le Cameroun
Cuisine camerounaise
F. Préparons le ndolé!
Recipe for Ndole
(from the NPR Afropop Worldwide Website
Ndole is the national dish of Cameroon. It originated from among the Douala people along the Atlantic Coast, but it is now widely eaten throughout the country. Afropop Worldwide host George Collinet says Cameroonians prepare Ndole for special occasions-marriages, baptisms and so on.
Ndole (Vernonia amygdalina) itself is not available in the States, and is a very bitter leaf that requires a complicated and fascinating process of "washing", in order to reduce the bitterness. We will be using kale or turnip greens instead of ndole. I learned this recipe from a combination of three women in the Western and Northwestern Provinces of Cameroon -- Gnetegha Collette, Fru Julie, and Dorothy Tanwani.
INGREDIENTS: Kale or Turnip Greens (10 quarts when still raw) Raw, Skinless peanuts (2-4 cups) Tomatoes (6) Garlic (4-7 cloves) White Pepper (35 peppercorns) Leek (1) Onion (1.5) Bouillon Cubes (3) Salt (to taste) Hot Peppers (Scotch Bonnets, if possible) Fresh Celery Leaves and Parsley (to taste) Meat (2 pounds) or Fish (Cameroonians often use Cod) Vegetable Oil
Clean the greens, removing the stems, and cut into small pieces.
Soak the peanuts in plain water for 30-45 minutes. While they are soaking, cut the meat into pieces, and boil with 1/2 onion and a small quantity of salt, until well cooked. Note that once the meat is cooked, you will drain it and save the stock. Blend the tomatoes and 1/2 leek (the white part). Cut 1/2 onion, a bit of parsley, and a bit of celery leaves into small pieces. In your food processor, grind the other 1/2 leek, white pepper, hot pepper, ginger, and garlic. Now, drain the peanuts and puree in a blender with 1/2 onion and just enough water for the blending.
Heat oil until very hot, and add the sliced 1/2 onion, parsley and celery leaves. After a couple of minutes, add the blended tomato mix. Let this cook for several minutes, and then add the meat. Now, take half of the ingredients that you ground in the food processor, and add to the sauce, along with some of the meat stock. Let this cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring periodically, and then add the blended peanut mixture, along with a bit of salt and the cubes.
A note on the blended peanuts -- you want the peanuts to be noticeable in, but not dominate the sauce, so experiment with the quantity that seems appealing.
Add a small amount of meat stock (or plain water if the stock is insufficient) and the greens. Let this cook for a few minutes, and then add more water as needed, and the rest of the ground ingredients. Add salt to taste, and stir with regularity so that the sauce doesn't burn. I recommend a medium heat. As with many sauces in Cameroon, Ndole is thick and not watery. Let the sauce cook another 5 to 10 minutes, again stirring.
At the end, some people add oil which has been heated in a frying pan, so that you can see the oil floating on the surface of the sauce, but I prefer not to do this.
Ndole is great with plantains and rice. In Cameroon, it is also served with boiled tubers, or fermented cassava that has been pounded and steamed in leaves. Contributed by Robin Swett