As a steady stream of revelers make way into Zoe Grounds, Lugogo, Kampala, the new venue for the 4th edition of the Rolex Festival, a dark cloud hovers in the sky above, threatening to unleash a torrent of rain that will undoubtedly bring this joyful gathering to an abrupt end or at least disrupt the day’s planned events.
Noticing the impending catastrophe, a vibrant middle-aged woman who has been issuing nonstop instructions to her colleagues inside a giant tented stall clutches her rosary and mutters a silent prayer.
Her stall is a hive of activity and the stacked trays of eggs and heaps of freshly-prepared chapati (Indian flatbread) that grows by the minute points to what she expects to be a busy, lucrative day.
A few short minutes later, as the ominous cloud begins to quickly dissipate, allowing the bright sun to reveal itself, the relief that cuts across hers and other people’s faces is palpable. Clearly, the Rolex has the gods in its corner.
This is the Rolex Festival. And unlike the luxurious wristwear whose roots can be traced back to Geneva, Switzerland over a century ago, Uganda’s culinary delight of the same name is a lot newer yet its evolution through the years has been remarkable, its appeal to the masses, impressive.
From a low-cost, quick-to-fix street meal meant to cater to the needs of Uganda’s largely semi-skilled and unskilled workforce at the end of long and grueling workdays, the Rolex has quietly but steadily made its way into corporate spaces and high-end eateries, now listed on menus in restaurants and hotels where a cup of tea costs an arm and leg.
Such is the amazing power of Uganda’s Rolex that when Uganda’s former speaker of Parliament (and now Deputy Prime Minister), Rt. Hon. Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga inspected the stalls at the latest edition of the Rolex Festival which happened recently, the general consensus amongst those present was that the delicacy had finally “arrived” on the big stage.
It was apparent, as she tasted and toasted to what is now the nation’s most popular whole meal, that there is no telling just how far the Rolex can go in marketing a country that has steadily held its crown as East Africa’s food basket and top tourist destination.
Humble beginnings
As earlier noted, the story of the rise of the Rolex is one of humble beginnings.
The story of the Rolex goes as back as 1995 in the locales of Makerere University. The tale goes that the very first Rolex was made by a man called Sula (a chapatti maker in Wandegeya) who rolled the first Rolex for a Makerere University student after a basketball game. The student was very hungry and didn’t have much money on him. So, Sula improvised what would soon become a very popular meal among Makerere students.
Initially touted as a meal for young people seeking to avoid spending unreasonable sums on basic meals, the Rolex, a devastating combination of any number of fried eggs – omelette and chapati rolled together with raw or at best, half-cooked vegetables, the average Rolex in its early days cost as low as Shs 2,000 or just about half of a dollar. It was as affordable as it was available but most importantly, it was uniquely Ugandan.
As it gained popularity especially due to its hunger-conquering capabilities, it also presented an opportunity to its creative makers. With demand for the delicious meal ramping up by the day largely due to the exposure it was getting across all media channels and through word of mouth, it was time for modifications to the ordinary Rolex as we knew it and soon, what started as a chapati-eggs-vegetable affair soon had chicken, bacon, beef and a variety of other spices and additions for company.
At the just-concluded 4th Rolex Festival, almost every stall debuted a new variation of the meal that has attained legendary status among locals and tourists alike. That the Rolex has a festival well into its 4th edition in its honor is in itself no mean feat. Indeed, the Rolex must leave Uganda’s other staple foods like matooke (bananas), posho (maize bread), cassava and potatoes green with envy. The rise in the Rolex’s reputation and its enhanced epicurean composition has also come with a price adjustment with the most delectable Rolexes now going for as high as Ugx. 25,000 (approx. $6.5), a significant increase although low-cost options remain on offer to cater for the ordinary Ugandan.
Different players deserve the credit for their contribution to the evolution that this popular meal has undergone. UgaRoll, for example where all varieties of the Rolex – BBQ Grilled Chicken, Spicy Stripped Chicken, Veggie Island, Special Chicken George, Hawaiian, Legendary – reign supreme. These will cost you in the range of Shs 9,000 to Shs 22,000.
If you have been to Mbarara, you definitely have heard about a popular spot (at The Heat along Kakoba Road) called The Rolex Booth. The Rolex served there is as delectable as they come. It’s Rolex that went to Harvard Law School and works at one of those Wall Street firms. The menu has Chicken Rolex (Shs 10,000), Beef Rolex (Shs 8,000) and Vegetable (Shs 6,000).
Every destination around the globe has one thing it is famous for. A thing that distinguishes its culture. In the case of Uganda, every foreigner that visits desires to devour the Rolex.
In 2017, Trevor Noah who then hosted The Daily Show on Comedy Central tweeted that he had plans of visiting Uganda. But there was a condition. That when he does, he wants the original Rolex made by Sula in Wandegeya. The tweet caused a lot of buzz online.
The Rolex’s fame has won global attention with repeated coverage on all major international media. In 2016, CNN profiled the Rolex among the 19 African dishes everyone should be eating. Little wonder that it’s the only thing CNN international correspondent, Larry Madowo, had to post about on his recent visit to Kampala.
In April, The New York Times featured the Rolex as “the Breakfast to Change Your Mornings”. Nigerian food writer, author, and food stylist, Yewande Komolafe, who wrote the piece too acknowledged that “a Rolex can be as elaborate or as superficial as you need it to be”.
The epitome (so far) of this global conquest was perhaps at the beginning of this year when the Rolex broke a world record after entering the Guinness World Records.
The world’s largest rolex weighs 204.6kg and is 2.32m long. The ingredients that went into this mega Rolex included 1,200 eggs, 90kg of vegetables (onions, tomatoes, cabbages, carrots and peppers), 72kg of flour and 40kg of cooking oil.
Ugandan YouTuber, Raymond Kahuma, who led the initiative told the BBC that It took a team of 60 people to get it ready. He mobilized the chefs and bakers who spent 14 hours mixing, kneading, chopping and frying the ingredients in a temporary outdoor kitchen.
But with this global popularity has come mixed sentiments. Especially when this buzz threatens to outshine another brand that has been around for decades.
This year, the Swiss luxury wristwatch brand, Rolex, initiated the process of registering the brand name Rolex and its logo in Uganda through the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB). The moved was in order to protect its intellectual property locally.
Legal experts in intellectual property rights argue that the two “rolexes” can co-exist as distinct entities since they target different markets.
The future
As Uganda’s Rolex ‘specialists’ continue to conjure up one exciting recipe of the exquisite snack after the other, the latest crop including; the “buttiko” (small mushrooms) rolex, the “malewa” (bamboo shoots) rolex, the “sharwama” (mixed meats) rolex and the upgraded versions of the traditional omelet and chapati that now include an assortments of veggies, spices, cheese, sausages, mayonnaise and gravy, there’s simply no telling where next for the popular street bite but one thing remains clear, the only way is up.
With organizations like National Forestry Authority (NFA) embracing the promotion of the food as part of their eco-tourism drive and support from other institutions like UTB through campaigns like Explore Uganda, formed to promote destination Uganda rightly called the Pearl of Africa, it is clear that the Rolex is here to stay.
From Rolex stalls scattered all across the country offering an opportunity to young people to earn a genuine living while feeding the nation to budding festivals like the just concluded Rolex Festival organized by Rolex Initiative, an entity seeking to promote and harness the delicacy’s potential both locally and across borders, the Rolex continues to evolve, feed and thrill the nation and its visitors.
Like the popular saying goes in the land, in Uganda, we don’t wear the Rolex, we eat it!
