One recurring lament of the expat in the tropics is "cheese!"
Luckily lots of businesses have sprung up in Dar in recent years to smother your cravings in coop mozzarella and sustainable chocolate.
Bread: Oysterbay Deli, at Oysterbay shopping centre. Sesame bread, multi-grain bread, even gluten-free bread… mkate wa ufuta (puffy chewy sesame flatbread), bagels and muffins… plus a fridge full of spreads and cold cuts. Spinach and feta pie and different flavours of fresh pasta at the deli counter. All the above handmade. Wine. Cheese. A café with Italian ice cream and a halloumi salad deep in halloumi. The owners, Tino and Samiha, are also building a Mexican-themed hotel in Lushoto – watch this space! deliltd@yahoo.com, 022-2600050.
Chocolate: Chocolate Mamas. A chocolate company making Tanzanian chocolate and cocoa from Tanzanian cacao beans (of course sourced at good prices from smallholders in the Southern Highlands) plus Tanzanian cashews, chili, coffee bits, and all the other flavours I can’t recall at the moment. Chocolate Mamas have built this from scratch – even commissioning the cocoa butter machine from Tanzanian artisans (and university professors). www.chocolatemamas.com
Cheese: Njombe Milk Factory, sold by the good people at Italian NGO Cefa. My favourites are the fancy mozzarella and the ricotta: try using it for making Nigel Slater’s orange zest and ricotta pancakes. I believe these guys also supply Zuane. I heard a rumour that Shrijee’s would sell their cheese but when I checked it was sold out. You can buy Njombe cheese at the monthly Oysterbay market or at Cefa’s office/hostel in Mikocheni B – or call 0756916853, njombemilkfactory@gmail.com
Coffee: Msumbi Coffee house blend -- or espresso roast?? Both are divine. Go to their shop upstairs at Seacliff shopping centre and get it freshly ground, cheaper.
What else do you want? Wine? Sadly the three Dodoma wines I’ve sampled have all been abysmal.
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