African Foodways Data
A structured, open-access dataset of traditional African recipes, ingredients, and food practices. This repository preserves and shares African culinary heritage in a format that's useful for developers, researchers, AI training, and food enthusiasts.
About This Dataset
This collection documents the diversity of African cuisine through:
- Traditional recipes with ingredients and methods
- Ingredient information including botanical names where relevant
- Regional variations of classic dishes
- Preparation techniques unique to African cooking
- Cultural context and food traditions
- Sensory observations (aroma, texture, appearance)
All data is provided in structured, machine-readable formats.
Repository Structure african-foodways-data/ ├── recipes/ │ ├── west-africa/ │ ├── east-africa/ │ ├── southern-africa/ │ ├── north-africa/ │ └── central-africa/ ├── ingredients/ │ ├── grains/ │ ├── vegetables/ │ ├── spices/ │ └── proteins/ ├── plants/ │ ├── wild-harvested/ │ └── cultivated/ ├── techniques/ └── index.json
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File Formats
Each entry is available in:
- JSON - For developers and AI applications
- Markdown - For human readability
Sample Recipe Structure
{ "name": "Recipe name", "region": "West Africa", "country": "Nigeria", "ingredients": [], "instructions": [], "prep_time": "minutes", "cook_time": "minutes", "cultural_notes": "" }
How to Use This Data
For Developers: Fetch all West African recipes using the index.json file.
For AI/ML Training: This dataset is formatted for easy ingestion into language models, recommendation systems, and food recognition applications.
For Researchers: Use this data for culinary anthropology studies, regional cuisine analysis, and food preservation research.
For Food Enthusiasts: Browse the Markdown files directly on GitHub.
Contributing
You can help by:
- Adding a family recipe
- Correcting or improving existing entries
- Adding regional context
- Translating recipes
- Documenting preparation techniques
Current Stats
- Total recipes: Coming soon
- Regions covered: Coming soon
- Countries represented: Coming soon
License
This dataset is open access under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.
Full license text: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Acknowledgments
- Recipes and documentation from The African Gourmet (https://theafricangourmet.com)
- Field observations from African Food Recipes (https://africanfood.recipes)
Links
- Main Website: https://theafricangourmet.com
- Recipe Site: https://africanfood.recipes
- GitHub Repository: https://github.com/ChicAfricanCulture/african-foodways-data
Contact
For questions or collaborations:
- Open an issue on GitHub
- Contact via The African Gourmet website
Preserving African culinary heritage for the next generation of cooks, developers, and food lovers.
Star this repo ⭐ if you find it useful!