A Nigerian woman who arrived in Derry as an international student is recreating a taste of home through her own brand of spices.
Bintan Ashorobi has lived in the city since 2021 when she started studying for a degree in data analytics at Ulster University.
Following her graduation the mother-of-two turned her attention to things more culinary – food being very much at the heart of Nigerian culture.
Spurred by the fact she was having to source ingredients from home to make traditional dishes like jollof rice and suya rice, Bintan decided to explore the possibility of making spices of her own.
With the help of Foodovation, she got to work on cooking up her own brand – Afrispices and Co.

Located within the Strand Road campus of the North West Regional College, Foodovation is a business centre of excellence for food development and technology as well as being a one-stop-shop for those looking to get their foot on the business ladder.
‘Food is everything’
“Food is everything in Nigeria, I mean we absolutely love our food,” revealed Bintan.
“When I came here and couldn’t get the spices we use back home, I decided to look into creating my own.
“A friend of mine put me in touch with Foodovation in the College and they were so helpful. Initially I went to a meeting with them and explained what I was looking to do. They said yes, of course we can make that happen.
“They helped with the business sides of things, they linked me up with Derry City and Strabane District Council and they gave me the contacts so I could register my company.”

Once the administration requirements were complete, Bintan and a mentor assigned to her by Foodovation got to work blending and mixing.
“I said let’s start with two or three spices and in time we can create more. But I wanted to begin with just three.”
Jollof rice is a staple in West African cuisine. Made from rice, tomatoes, onions, peppers and distinctive spices, it is often enjoyed with chicken, beef, lamb, goat meat or fish.
Similarly, suya is a regular feature on the West African dinner table. It is a much-loved dish of grilled meat heavily spiced with a mix of peanuts and aromatics.
The third component is a spice designed to add a bit of excitement to a stir fry.
It took seven months to get from initial discussions with Foodovation to actually having an Afrispices packet in hand, complete with unique logo.
It has been a busy time with lots of lessons learnt.

“I’ve had to do quite a few courses to learn about labelling, to find out about expiry dates and to learn about allergies. It has been a lot of work and now that we are finally at this point I’m sort of ‘okay, here we go then’.”
Taster session
Members at the North West Migrants Forum got a taster session from Bintan recently when she showed them how to cook her various dishes.
They gave it a firm thumbs up, as did the local authority which has given Afrispices and Co a five star food hygiene rating.
“I’ve always wanted to have my own business and it’s exciting to see things coming together the way they have,” added the city’s newest entrepreneur.

“I’ve spoken to some local shops and they are interested in stocking my spices. They will be available shortly and hopefully people try them out and enjoy them.”
You can check out Bintan’s progress on her Bintan Ashorobi (Afrispices) Facebook and Instagram pages. She can also be reached via email at bimitanall07899@gmail.com.
