REPORT
Senegal: Christmas logs made with local products
Audio 01:24
Ndeye Khadi Ba, manager of the Mburu bakery in Dakar, with ditakh, bouye and bissap logs.
© Juliette Dubois / RFI
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
In Senegal, the population is mainly Muslim, but Christmas is celebrated in many families of all faiths.
Vendors of plastic Christmas trees and Santa hats have invaded the streets, and bakeries have brought out their most beautiful yule logs.
Some are giving this classic dessert a bit of a makeover by using local fruits like bissap, hibiscus flower.
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With our correspondent in Dakar,
Juliette Dubois
This is the trickiest part: the icing is poured over the last logs.
Then, the final touch: small fir trees and Santa Clauses adorn the shiny domes, before they join the windows.
The yule logs from the Mburu bakery in Dakar have a particularity: they are made with local products.
Ndeye Khadi Ba is the manager of the store, which mainly employs women from rural areas: “
It's a source of pride because these are products that we produced here, on our land.
It is a pride for us.
»
The beautiful bright green Rama log is made from ditakh, a small fresh and tangy green fruit.
The chocolate log also plays with local color with its crispy peanut bouraké.
In the store, which also sells bread made from traditional cereals such as millet or fonio, the telephone does not stop ringing.
“
There are a lot of orders today, especially logs and sticks
.
»
Some customers are already fans, like Martin, who works in the bakery district: “
When it's made of logs, it's really another discovery.
This is my second order.
Since it's the holidays, maybe I'll order a yule log with ditakh and one with chocolate.
It's out of the ordinary and you don't see it often.
»
Original or traditional, the yule log will be on most Christmas tables in Dakar.
Read also: In Africa, Christmas preparations follow each other and are not alike
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