Campbelltown chef Alick Matewa sets up kitchen for African Food Feasts with help from FoodLab

Campbelltown chef Alick Matewa had a dream to showcase the delicious dishes that can be found across the corners of the African continent. See how he has made it a reality.

Campbelltown resident Alick Matewa is the owner of African Food Feasts.

A Sydney chef’s dream to bring a taste of Africa to his new home has fast become a reality, just a few years after he launched his catering business.

When Zimbabwean-born Alick Matewa arrived in Australia in 2005 he worked as a chef in every kind of venue imaginable in Sydney.

With a passion for cooking and feeding people, the now Campbelltown resident learnt that very few Australians knew about the diversity and vibrancy of African cuisine.

So, he decided to set about changing that.

“I was scared of venturing out and it held me back but in 2019 that’s when I said to myself ‘someone has to do it, it might as well be me’,” Mr Matewa said.

Alick Matewa.

Seeing a gap in the market, Mr Matewa launched his catering business – African Food Feasts and then a few years later he joined organisation FoodLab in 2022 to help get recognised in the Sydney food scene.

FoodLab Sydney is a not-for-profit culinary business incubator that helps entrepreneurs with high barriers to formalise and grow food businesses.

It focuses on supporting refugees, migrants, Aboriginal Australians and low-income entrepreneurs by offering affordable kitchen space, industry-specific resources, mentoring and sales opportunities.

FoodLab supported Mr Matewa to develop his branding, operations, financial back-end, and offered sales opportunities to sell his food and now he sells out weekly at The Potts Point Market.

“I am excited to be able to share the beauty and diversity of African cuisine with people in Sydney,” he said. “I have grown so much during FoodLab and now am beginning to employ people in my business.”

Mr Matewa is now preparing for festivals and bigger events, as he continues to work at pop-up events and markets but is worried about the cost of living and the pressures that kitchen rent is putting on his business.

When Zimbabwean-born Alick Matewa arrived in Australia he worked as a chef in every kind of venue imaginable in Sydney.

Chef Alick Matewa cooks dishes from all over Africa. Picture: Jasper Ave

He said he was excited to get access to a kitchen through FoodLab, which would keep his costs down and provide for himself and his family.

“It’s going to be brilliant because I will be able to cook on a large scale and I know there will be a kitchen to cook, I won’t have to use ones all over Sydney,” Mr Matewa said.

“We will also be able to do pop-up events at the kitchen to do cooking classes.”

Mr Matewa said it had been empowering to introduce African food to Australians who had never tried it.

He said the diversity of African food was incredible and he cooked well-known dishes from a multitude of regions, rather than just his birthplace Zimbabwe.

“Africa is 54 countries and people keep asking me what is African food like, so I explain to them the different dishes and where they are from” he said.

“It has been interesting for people to come to try and then they come back the following week for more. It is really exciting. That’s why I started this.”

African Food Feasts is a frequent presence at markets across Sydney, and does private events and pop-up corporate events.