Street Food Discourses and the Case of the Ugandan “Rolex”

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines the multiple ideological and symbolic meanings associated with the Ugandan street food called “rolex”. Rolex is a popular street food that was declared a tourist attraction in Uganda by the then Minister for Tourism after the snack was ranked by CNN as the fastest-growing street food in Africa in 2016. Rolex seems to derive its name not from the Swiss watch brand, but from the act of rolling the omelette inside a chapati. The article discusses the evolving identities of this snack, and analyses how the street food is constructed in Uganda’s press. I argue that the street food serves a number of cultural functions: it serves as a delicious meal, a celebration of national identity and resilience, a marker of economic activity, an index of Asian influences, and a symbol of diplomacy. In addition, it creates nostalgia and longing from outside the country. The article shows how this street food for the urban poor has become a national delicacy that tells the story of Uganda’s attempt to produce an identity and unity constructed around a “national meal” that caters to different ethnic and social groups.