By Theresa Moses
Lagos came alive with colour, flavour and shared joy at the GTCO Food & Drink Festival Holiday Edition, not just as a food event, but as a powerful cultural statement and a reimagining of how families experience the festive season in Nigeria.
At its core, the Holiday Edition stood out for two defining pillars: the celebration of Nigerian cuisine as a living expression of cultural identity, and GTCO’s deliberate creation of a safe, inclusive, family-centred holiday experience accessible to all.
More than a gathering of food vendors, the GTCO Food & Drink Festival Holiday Edition emerged as a rich cultural showcase, placing Nigerian cuisine firmly at the centre of national identity and creative expression. The Festival presented a vivid tapestry of flavours drawn from Nigeria’s diverse ethnic and regional traditions, reinforcing food as both heritage and storytelling.
Across the venue, attendees encountered an impressive range of classic Nigerian dishes, including hearty bowls of jollof rice, ofada rice with ayamase sauce, pounded yam paired with egusi and ogbono soups, amala with ewedu and gbegiri, edikang ikong, afang soup, native fisherman soups, pepper soup varieties, nkwobi, isi ewu, boli (roasted plantain) with roasted fish, assorted suya selections and masa. Each dish reflected deep-rooted culinary customs passed down through generations.
The Festival also celebrated indigenous snacks and street foods, elevating everyday favourites to a premium platform. Visitors sampled puff-puff, chin chin, masa, akara, kokoro, kuli-kuli, roasted corn, plantain chips, pan-Nigerian street foods and snacks that have transcended ethnic boundaries to become national favourites. Jollof rice, chin chin, meat pies, fish pies, scotch eggs, plantain chips, doughnuts and Nigerian-style shawarma attracted long queues.
Equally prominent were locally inspired drinks and beverages, showcasing Nigeria’s rich non-alcoholic and traditional drink culture. Vendors offered refreshing servings of zobo, tigernut milk (kunu aya), palm wine, sobo-infused mocktails, locally blended fruit juices, ginger drinks, and hibiscus-based beverages, and refreshed attendees under the festive Lagos sun. Some creatively reimagined for contemporary tastes while preserving their indigenous roots.
Beyond variety, the Festival highlighted innovation rooted in tradition. Many vendors showcased modern interpretations of age-old recipes—repackaging native meals for urban consumers without sacrificing authenticity. This balance of preservation and reinvention reinforced Nigerian cuisine’s relevance on both local and global stages.
By creating a high-visibility, world-class platform for indigenous foods, GTCO showed that Nigerian cuisine is not merely traditional fare but a powerful cultural asset. The Food & Drink Festival became a living archive of taste, memory and identity—one that celebrated the past while confidently projecting Nigeria’s culinary future.
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