Culinary Flair
Cuisine From Around the World Grows in Redding…
“We want local people to have an opportunity to see if what they have in their minds and hearts can become something bigger. Our goal is to encourage start-ups to find success in Redding
by making the cost of running a food business more accessible than it would be to own a full-scale restaurant…”
There was a time, not long ago, when the world felt enormous, all-encompassing in its vastness. Between modern advancements in technology and the relative ease of travel in 2024, the planet is largely more accessible than it once was. Still, there are corners of Earth that seem so far away, it can feel like a virtual impossibility that we’ll ever be able to set our eyes on them. Thankfully, Redding has some culinary artists from other places in the world that bring with them a vibrancy, a passion for delicious cuisine, a mastery of flavors and a heart for building community. Each delicious dish brings those distant corners within reach – a proverbial hand extended in friendship, an embrace that reminds you that the world isn’t so enormous, after all.
Charity Abban-Saah of Nigeria and her husband, Koby, of Ghana moved to Redding in September 2015. Koby, a registered nurse, and Charity, a former preschool teacher, found a way to blend their passion for delicious West African food and their desire to share it with the community through their business, Amazing Alheri African Cuisine, launched in 2023. In Nigeria, Hausa is one of more than 500 tribal languages spoken. “Alheri” is a Hausa word that means “grace.” The name Amazing Alheri, in and of itself, is a blending of two languages, and two worlds.
Amazing Alheri first captivated the community at the Redding Farmers Markets on Saturday mornings, behind Redding City Hall. After a year in business as vendors at the Farmers Market, the Abban-Saahs, who used the commercial kitchen at Sizzle’s in Downtown Redding, took the opportunity to purchase the business when it went up for sale earlier this year.
The Abban-Saahs still bring Amazing Alheri to the Farmers Market every Saturday from 7:30 am to noon during market season. Then, from noon to 3 pm, they keep the party going at Sizzle’s Kitchen, at 1440 Placer St. Sizzle’s is used by more than 40 local food establishments, including Furnari Sausage Company, Mark’s Salsa and Deandra’s Taste of Jamaica. The goal, Abban-Saah says, is to build community and support local people as they pursue their dreams of owning a food-based business. Sizzle’s Kitchen collaborates with the Women’s Business Center at JEDI in Redding to ensure its vendors benefit from the free financial and media support available to startup businesses.
“We want local people to have an opportunity to see if what they have in their minds and hearts can become something bigger. Our goal is to encourage start-ups to find success in Redding by making the cost of running a food business more accessible than it would be to own a full-scale restaurant. Sizzle’s Kitchen is a starting point for local vendors and artisans to come and explore their dreams. We want it to be the space that turns dreams into reality,” says Abban-Saah.
When Abban-Saah moved to Redding, she noted a lack of food diversity. “I longed for our foods, but I couldn’t find them. I couldn’t even find the ingredients to make them. So, I started infusing some Western ingredients with a few African ones that I had to create something different.”
Abban-Saah found her love of food when she was an 8-year-old girl living in Maiduguri, Northern Nigeria. “That’s when I discovered the beauty of spices and flavors,” says Abban Saah.
Her mother, Rihila, loved cooking for family, friends and people in the community. Rihila passed the tradition of sharing food with loved ones down to her daughter. “Just like my mother, I would make food and drinks, and then invite my friends over to eat. My friends started requesting that I bring my food and drinks to parties because they loved it so much,” she says.
Among Amazing Alheri’s most popular dishes are Poundo, a type of Fufu, a Nigerian staple made from African yam and Egusi soup, made with ground African melon seeds, spinach, beef, and West African spices, including Scotch Bonnet Pepper and African nutmeg. Abban-Saah’s personal favorite is the Jollof rice, made with tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and Nigerian spice, served with pan-seared salmon, and a Zinziber, a drink made with pineapple, lemon and ginger. Her goal is to add Suya, an African beef kebab, to the line up at Amazing Alheri.
“In five years, Amazing Alheri will have already given the people of Redding a taste of Africa, even beyond food,” says Abban-Saah. “It will be a space where people can experience other elements of West African culture, like fashion, music and dance.”
Deandra Williams, of Deandra’s Taste of Jamaica Restaurant and Catering, took her passion to the professional level amidst the hustle and bustle of Sizzle’s Kitchen in early 2024. Her love for food had been brewing since she was a teenager, when her family would host monthly get togethers.
“I saw first-hand how good food, great and even controversial conversations, white rum, good music and a good game of dominoes were able to bring people together from all walks of life. I witnessed very early in life how powerful a vehicle food was, and could be,” says Williams.
Williams picked up “a couple of tricks and trades in the kitchen” from her father, a restaurateur since 2009.
Like Abban-Saah, Williams saw a lack of diversity in food offerings in the Redding community and set her sights on changing it. On Monday evenings, she would have dinner at home with friends who complimented her food and encouraged her to share it with more people. What began as a pop up at Sizzle’s Kitchen led to Williams becoming a vendor at the Redding Farmers Market every Saturday during the market season. She says curried goat, oxtail and jerk chicken are tied for the title of most popular dish among her customers at Deandra’s Taste of Jamaica.
The choice is exponentially clearer for Williams: “Definitely the curry goat. If I had to eat one meal for the rest of my life, that would be curry goat and rice and peas. But please don’t tell Usain Bolt that because he’s a person that is convinced that curry goat should only be eaten with plain white rice.”
Diverse perspectives – and people – are what make the world go round, after all.
“The Jamaican national motto is ‘Out of Many, One People.’ Jamaican food gets its inspiration from and is influenced by many cultures and people, particularly Indian, Chinese, Middle Eastern and African, just to name a few,” says Williams.
As a self-proclaimed “people person” and extensive traveler, Williams loves exploring other cultures and food. “I’ve learned a lot by observing how other people do things. Those who know me very well would also say that I’m full of flavor, just like the Jamaican cuisine.”
Williams would eventually like to add oxtail pasta, a jerk chicken burger, a jerk chicken salad and jerk shrimp to her offerings at Deandra’s Taste of Jamaica. She also hopes to reintegrate jerk chicken pasta, an early farmers market offering, back into the lineup.
“Five years from now, I would love to have a building that is the heartbeat of the city – a place where people of all ages can congregate to enjoy good food, good music – including Jamaican music – and laughter.” •
Amazing Alheri African Cuisine
Saturdays at the Redding Farmers Market: 7:30am to noon,
777 Cypress Ave., Redding • (530) 355-5574 • Amazingalheri.com
Saturdays at Sizzle’s Kitchen: Noon to 3pm – 1440 Placer St., Redding
Find them on Instagram and Facebook
Deandra’s Taste of Jamaica Restaurant & Catering:
Saturdays at the Redding Farmers Market: 7:30am to noon,
777 Cypress Ave., Redding • (530) 972-4078
Find them on Instagram and Facebook
