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Why one Londoner is highlighting Ethiopian culture at Shepherd’s Bush Market

Sefanit Mengiste leads foodie tours of the west London shopping hub

Chiara Wilkinson
Written by
Chiara Wilkinson
Deputy Editor, UK
Photograph: Urban Adventures
Photograph: Urban Adventures
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‘I think people are surprised by how much Ethiopian culture is in London,’ says Sefanit Mengiste, explaining the reaction to her Ethiopian Flavours tour round Shepherd’s Bush Market. Taking in an elaborate coffee ceremony and tastings of traditional food like injera (fermented flatbread) and misir alicha (lentil stew), the two-and-a-half-hour tour is packed 
with personal stories and 
golden nuggets of knowledge.

Mengiste left Gondar in northern Ethiopia aged 14 and has lived in London ever since. ‘When I take people around Shepherd’s Bush and show them my culture, traditions and food, I miss home,’ she says. ‘But there are bits of Ethiopia here that I can still connect with. We have a big community in west London – like the church, a football group and a women’s group. I started the tours because I wanted to become financially independent and be an ambassador for my community.’

She launched the tour in March 2021, following six months of training from social enterprise Women in Travel, in partnership with travel company Intrepid Urban Adventures. Since starting, Mengiste has been ‘over the moon’ with how the tours have gone. ‘Before the first one, I was really nervous,’ she says. ‘Then I realised that I shouldn’t be, because I’m just sharing things that I already know.’

The tour spotlights independent businesses like a juice stall and an Ethiopian restaurant. ‘I’ve been going to Shepherd’s Bush Market for over 15 years,’ Mengiste says. ‘But it’s not as well known as Borough or Camden. I’m hoping the tour will show that Shepherd’s Bush has a lot to offer as well.’ 

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