CLEVELAND — From as young as three years old, Carasai Ihentuge has memories of eating fufu with his family. The West African staple, which Ihentuge makes out of a plantain-based enriched flour, is meant to be scooped up by hand and eaten with a variety of traditional West African dishes, including stews and soups.
“This is something that my dad used to make for us all the time,” Ihentuge said, stirring a new pot in his Cleveland restaurant.
A love of food and celebrating their roots has always run in the Ihentuge family. Carasai’s father owned a food truck in Orlando. When his father retired, Carasai’s brother, Godwin, took up the reins, starting his own operation in their hometown of Detroit and eventually opening up two brick and mortar restaurant locations in the Detroit area.
Carasai followed suit, opening up another YumVillage location in Cleveland, a proudly Black-owned business on CSU’s campus. The food on the menu is a celebration of their family’s West African and Caribbean background.
“My dad’s Nigerian, so we grew up eating all the lovely cuisine that you’re going to see today,” Carasai said. “West African descent, we have Caribbean/Jamaican background as well, [we] pretty much love eating this type of food.”
That food includes staple dishes with a twist, in the hopes of introducing the cuisine to a larger audience. On the menu, you’ll find items like jollof rice, maafe, a traditional peanut stew, and egusi, a fish-based soup, alongside jerk chicken and plantains.
“You can eat some of the concepts that you’re familiar with but make it more palatable for, I guess, the average taste palette,” Carasai said.
Through the fast-casual style, diners can choose exactly what they want to try, customizing their dining experience.
Carasai also prides himself on offering options for a variety of dietary needs, from vegan to halal meats, using ingredients like agave to sweeten dishes instead of sugar, and using certain oils instead of butter.
One ingredient that shines in a number of dishes is one that Carasai grew up with, Cameroon pepper.
“Our main ingredient that we grew up eating for spice would be Cameroon pepper or alligator pepper,” he said. “Cameroon pepper is a naturally smoked pepper, so some of the dishes that you'll taste have a naturally smoked taste to it, but it’s not overwhelmingly spicy, so you still get to enjoy the meal at the same time.”
For Carasai and his family, YumVillage is a way to continue to share and amplify their culture and background, while helping customers explore new cuisines.
“Even if you don’t speak someone’s language, you can speak to them through food,” he said. “I would say food and math are the universal languages that you can speak to anyone.”
YumVillage is located at 2215 Chester Avenue in Cleveland.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above previously aired on 3News on July 10, 2022.