Emelia Arthur
It was a night of tasty Ghanaian culinary delights in a lively mood as Made-In-Ghana campaign ambassador and gospel musician, Ms. Emelia Arthur, hosted guests at her Made-In- Ghana Day Dinner on December 21 at the Mikaddo Conference Centre, near Labone Junction in Accra.
With appropriate festive décor, live dance music and an assortment of delicious dishes, Ms. Arthur with the support of her able management team amply promoted the food and foodways of Ghana.
No wonder nearly a fortnight after the dinner, Ms. Arthur still gets calls from some of the guests thanking her for the tasty apapransa with juicy crabs, the various tempting rice dishes, mouth-watering ampesi, yummy gari foto and all the other finger-licking delicacies.
As part of her Made-In-Ghana campaign which has been sustained since 2014, Ms. Arthur and her team decided to declare December 21 as Made-In-Ghana Day. She appealed to dealers in all sorts of made-in-Ghana goods and services throughout the country to reduce prices.
She further urged all in the country to wear Ghanaian clothes and also prepare and consume Ghanaian dishes on the day.
As a way of demonstrating she practices what she preaches, she organised the dinner and called guests to come feast on Ghanaian dishes and have locally-made drinks. Attendance was good as people from different spheres of Ghanaian life responded positively to her invitation.
The Ghana Police Central Band played to entertain guests. Well-known gospel act, ACP Kofi Sarpong, also performed with backing from his police colleagues. Ms Arthur, who also hosts the Ghanaian Kitchen programme on Homebase TV, sang some of her songs with her band to the delight of guests.
Chairman for the occasion was Mr. Kwaami Sheikh, President of the Ghana LPG Operators Association.
“I commend the organisers for a good job done. It was a wonderful atmosphere and the food was great. Now that Accra people have experienced it, I suggest the organisers take it elsewhere also, especially Kumasi. With the right publicity, Kumasi residents will help give the Made-In-Ghana Campaign a big push,” Mr. Kwaami Sheikh said.
Sponsors of the Made-In-Ghana Day Dinner included Nkulenu, ATL, i-Sibie Company Ltd, Health Alert Clinic, AdFirst Gas, Sabroso Oil, Choice Non-Alcoholic Herbal Drink and AsewPa Fruit Juice.
By George Clifford Owusu