Which country makes the best jollof rice? D.C. foodies put it to a blind test

The samples of jollof rice at the festival in Washington, D.C. were prepared by chefs from the D.C. metro area, hailing from six countries: Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and — for the first time since the competition began in 2017 — the United States. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption

It's a heated historic rivalry across West Africa: Which country makes the best jollof rice?

Cooks across both Nigeria and Ghana have long claimed to make the best. But chefs in Senegal argue that it originated there in the 14th century – so it must be the best! No fewer than 10 countries offer their own version of the dish; a rich, fragrant rice cooked down with spices, tomatoes and meat.

On Saturday, two thousand people stood in line near Washington D.C.'s Union Market for a yellow box of six, color-coded taster cups. The organizers of the Jollof Festival have traveled across the United States to put this debate to the test, gathering thousands of people for blind tastings of regional jollof prepared by local chefs.

Two thousand people attended the Jollof Festival at Union Market in Washington, D.C. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption

Friends Julie Agbasi and Shakesha Coleman came out to sample the variety and compared notes as they tried each one.

"It bites you at the end!" Agbasi said, after trying one. "It's very slow – it builds up and then at the end you're like, woo!"

"My heritage is Nigerian, so we used to eat jollof rice almost all the time," Agbasi said. "It's delicious, but there are other regions that I'm really looking forward to."