{"id":24972,"date":"2015-06-02T13:57:45","date_gmt":"2015-06-02T18:57:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=24972"},"modified":"2015-07-14T15:10:41","modified_gmt":"2015-07-14T20:10:41","slug":"afrissippi-fusion-lives-on-in-new-food-truck-by-alex-thiel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/afrissippi-fusion-lives-on-in-new-food-truck-by-alex-thiel\/","title":{"rendered":"Afrissippi Fusion Lives On in New Food Truck (by Alex Thiel)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"IMG_2147\"<\/a>
Robin Hill Webb and Guelel Kumba with the Afrissippi food truck, located at the northeast corner of North Lamar Blvd. and Molly Barr\/Hwy. 30 intersection.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the corner of North Lamar and Molly Barr, there\u2019s an unassuming black trailer parked in between two gas stations\u2019 parking lots. Arrive at the right time of day, however, and you\u2019ll see a sizeable crowd huddled around one of Oxford\u2019s more unique new lunch spots.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"2015-05-05-AfrissippiCuisine\"<\/a>
Chad Henson (left), Guelel Kumba (center), and a local playing music in front of the Afrissippi food truck.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This new food truck, named Afrissippi<\/strong>, is the latest venture for chef Chad Henson<\/strong>, a longtime Oxford resident and former co-owner of Two Stick<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had this trailer for the past couple years in Destin,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019ve done sushi in it, barbecue, burgers, different concepts.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI live in Santa Barbara now. I guess I\u2019m more interested in doing a different concept, or a different menu. The creative side of it rather than the day-to-day working of it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Although the truck has only been serving food for a few weeks now, the Afrissippi concept is something that Henson has been involved with for some years in varying capacities. The project began when Guelel Kumba<\/strong><\/span>, a native of Senegal, relocated to Oxford and began playing African\/blues fusion with a band of the same name.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"IMG_2106\"<\/a>
Robin Hill happily serving a customer. She’s always in a good mood, y’all!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201c[Guelel] used to play at my restaurant, Two Stick. Then we did a summer camp for kids called Camp Afrissippi, for the Girls and Boys Club. It was all about teaching North Mississippi kids the influence of music, dance, all that stuff.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, Kumba seeks to show the influence of Senegalese cooking on the soul food that\u2019s so essential to life in the south. But he\u2019s only half of the restaurant. Robin Hill<\/strong><\/span>, who used to own a food trailer nearby, serves her famous hot wings, fried fish, and other such staples of the Mississippi diet out of the same space.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although it may sound adventurous in theory, many of the African dishes at Afrissippi will look familiar to locals, a testament to the overlap and influence between the two cultures.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"IMG_2097\"<\/a>
The service is quick at Afrissippi!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cJambalaya\u2019s actually a dish made in Senegal,\u201d Henson says. \u201cI don\u2019t know if the word \u2018jambalaya\u2019 is Senegalese, but I do know they\u2019ve been making it as long as they have in New Orleans. Same with gumbo.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn Senegalese, \u2018gumbo\u2019 means \u2018okra.\u2019 Black eyed peas, collard greens, sweet potatoes, [they\u2019re] all West African food. The cooking was mostly done by slaves at the time. So the way they fried fish [and] cooked greens was a West African thing, not only a Southern thing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"AfrissippiEPKphoto\"<\/a>
Photo from Afrissippi press kit, 2008. Left to right: Justin Showah, Eric Deaton, Kinney Kimbrough, Guelel Kumba<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At this point, the trailer does not feature a fusion cuisine so much as it offers two different menus altogether. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a way to get people who wouldn\u2019t normally try African food to try it,\u201d Henson explains.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though the menu changes from day to day, Afrissippi\u2019s early success coupled with the fluid nature of the food truck means that bigger changes could be on the horizon.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI like the idea of giving other people a chance to start their own thing,\u201d Henson says. \u201cIdeally, if Guelel\u2019s food takes off, he may do this until he can get a brick-and-mortar spot, or he may do his own catering.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And why stop at just two countries? \u201cI\u2019m thinking about adding a guy making tacos. I\u2019ve talked to a guy from Guatemala who\u2019s interested in doing some more traditional Guatemalan fare.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more of a chameleon kind of truck.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This mix of the familiar and the adventurous is proving a successful venture so far. \u201cI drove all the way from Orlando, Florida to eat this food,\u201d says one man in the crowd, who identifies himself as a high school classmate of Robin\u2019s.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey say it\u2019s the best.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 \"The<\/a>
\n<\/u><\/span><\/p>\n

\"IMG_2151\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2013<\/span><\/p>\n

This article was printed in The Local Voice <\/em>#230 (published May 28, 2015).<\/span>
\n To download the PDF of this issue, click here<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Afrissippi was the feature of the cover for this issue!:<\/span><\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\"TLV-Cover-230-650\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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