Food aficionados and amateurs alike were treated to a great “treat” at Flora IP’s end of the year event themed “Nigerian Food, Photography and Law”, which held on 21 December 2020. The event, moderated by Dr Titilayo Adebola and Dr Amaka Vanni, featured the following four panelists: Ms Tola Akerele, the author of The Orishirishi Cookbook; Mr Anjola Awosika, a food photographer and Creative Director at Pastry Boy Studios; Ms Ify Monye Mogekwu of Ify’s Kitchen and Ms Precious Adebanjo of Flora IP.
Ms Tola Akerele
Elucidating the motivation behind her cookbook, The Orishirishi Cookbook, which aims to showcase Nigeria’s fascinating cuisines, culture and arts, Tola emphasised the uniqueness of Nigerian recipes and the peculiar problem of measurement. She explained that with a scientific study of the complex ingredients, The Orishirishi Cookbook provides accurate measurements – by adding a conversion chart for most items and counting systems for some ingredients not amenable to orthodox measurements.
She added that the cookbook was birthed to promote the mainstreaming of Nigerian cuisines. Responding to a poser by Amaka on whether it was necessary to anglicise the names of Nigerian dishes to gain wide acceptance, Tola maintained that Nigerian names are part of the Nigerian identity, which must be preserved. She recommended that the presentation of Nigerian food should be enhanced to promote global acceptance.
Mr Anjola Awosika
As a relatively under-explored terrain, Anjola led the participants into the world of food photography, especially in relation to Nigerian food. Drawing from his experience, he stated that food photography is his way of telling the Nigerian story in the face of the dearth of skills on this subject. Reminiscing on his experience while working on The Orishirishi Cookbook, he stressed the need for Nigerian foods and culture to be well presented.
Responding to Titilayo’s question on the unique characteristics of Nigerian food and how he would describe his experience of taking photographs of Nigerian food when compared with his experience of taking photographs of food from other jurisdictions, Anjola noted that (most) Nigerian foods are very colourful when compared to the rather monotonous look of some food from other parts of the world. The bright colour, according to Anjola, makes photographing Nigerian food an exciting endeavour.
Ms Ify Monye Mogekwu
Ify on her part discussed the intricacies of teaching people how to make Nigerian cuisines and pastries through an online class, ‘Cook with Ify‘, where she had assisted a lot of people with overcoming their cooking challenges. Despite her academic and professional backgrounds in law, Ify described cooking as a passion and identified orderliness as the intersection between cooking and law practice. Responding to a question by Titilayo on how she would describe Nigerian food to non-Nigerians, Ify affirmed that Nigerian food is bold in flavours, never bland, delicious, rich in herbs, and spicy (this can be toned down to each individual’s tolerance level).
According to Ify, you should not come to this world without trying a Nigerian food.
In answering a question about easy-to-cook Nigerian foods, Ify identified inter alia egg stew, garden egg stew, and beans. On the skill-set necessary to attain proficiency in cooking Nigerian food, Ify advised beginners to plan well ahead of cooking Nigerian soups which could be very time-consuming. Ify explained that preparing and refrigerating or freezing meat, fish and sauces for future use would reduce the overall time spent cooking. In discussing desired changes to the Nigerian food ecosystem, Ify emphasised the need for an effective food transportation system and food preservation. She added that with a more structured food system would improve food security in Nigeria.
Ms Precious Adebanjo
Passionate about food and agricultural laws, Precious introduced the participants to the legal issues relevant to the discussions above. By examining intellectual property rights such as Copyright, Trade secret, Trade Marks, Patents and Geographical Indications, Precious explored how some aspects of the subjects covered could be protected. For instance, she pointed out that photographs taken by Pastry Boy Studios are protected by copyright. Similarly, the literary and artistic works on Ify’s Kitchen website are protected by copyright.
However, individual recipes created by Ify’s kitchen or contained in The Orishirishi Cookbook are not protected by copyright. Nonetheless, The Orishirishi Cookbook is protected by copyright. By referencing case law, Precious confirmed that courts have held that recipes are not protected by copyright because they are not creative elaborations – that is, they are no more than a list of ingredients and direction of use. She further averred that where the recipes involve more than a list of ingredients and direction of use, the courts may arrive at different conclusions. Precious suggested that recipes could be protected as trade secrets. She stated that recipes could also be protected as patents, provided they meet the requirements for patentability, including novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability.
For their part, brand names such as Ify’s Kitchen, Bogobiri House, Pastry Boy Studios and The Orishirishi Cookbook could be protected as trade marks, if registered. Besides, foods that originate from particular States or communities and have distinctive qualities could be protected by geographical indications. Precious clarified that although Nigeria does not have a sui generis legislation for geographical indications, origin-based food can be protected under Nigeria’s Trade Marks Act of 1965. Furthermore, while Nigeria does not have any registered geographical indication, she revealed that it has various food and food products that would qualify for protection as geographical indications.
Responding to a question asked by one of the participants (Dr Bolanle Adebola) on the possibility of protecting Nigerian jollof rice as a geographical indication, Precious stated there was a remote possibility of registration. In highlighting the Indian and Pakistan discussions on transborder and joint geographical indication registrations for Basmati, Titilayo illuminated possible challenges to protecting Nigeria jollof rice, following debates such as its origin and standards for identification, amongst others.
Conclusion
Flora IP’s end of the year event themed “Nigerian Food, Photography and Law” provided different perspectives from industry experts and served to enlighten the public about the intersections of the subjects covered alongside their immediate and long-term benefits to Nigerians. From the lively chat section, I can confirm that it was an engaging session for the panelists and participants.
See the video recording for the event below.
