A career in food was always on the cards for Ashley Vola, owner of Vola Foods in Melbourne, Victoria.
"With the way I was brought up and raised, it always made me want to go into food," she says.
When Vola moved to Australia from her home country of Cameroon in Africa, going into the food business meant introducing locals to the big, bold flavours she grew up with.
Grandmother's kitchen
Vola was raised in a big family and her grandmother had a kitchen to match it. "[It] always had a minimum of four to six kids [in it]," she says.
Those four to six kids would help their grandmother, who they considered as their "head chef".
"Everybody had their little chore. Someone would do tomatoes. Another would do onions. Someone else would clean the meat and fish. And while my grandmother cooked, she would get all of us to taste the food and say if we liked it or not," she says. "That's how I learned to cook – by taste, by feel."
Vola knew the ins and outs of her grandmother's kitchen, but when she moved to Australia, she began adapting to a new way of cooking.
"My food now is my heritage and the Australian way put together; but when we came to Australia, cooking and food were so different from what I knew. Spices were different. Food was different."
Vola describes the food she grew up with as heavy and filling, with spices that packed a punch and influences from other countries.
"We're a bilingual country and speak both English and French. There are strong English and French influences in our food."
That's how I learned to cook – by taste, by feel.
"We share a border with Nigeria as well, so Nigeria and Cameroon have very similar dishes – some of them even have the same name."
But Cameroon's food is diverse in itself. "Every suburb has its own food and clothing that represents them," she says.
A mix of traditional and modern
Vola says nothing embodies her more the dishes she serves at Vola Foods.
After joining cooking game show Plate of Origin two years ago, Vola says it became clear to her what kind of food she wanted to cook and how to serve it.
"I bought a shipping container, renovated it and create food that I love.
"Everything on the menu is my favourite. All the dishes in there speak to my heritage. My food is pretty much my family on a plate."
My food is pretty much my family on a plate.
Some of the dishes stay true to tradition. She cooks the the same way her aunt taught her how to, and the suya meat continues to be cooked over a charcoal barbecue.
On the other hand, the popular Joloff rice has been adapted to her and Australia's taste.
The beautiful side
For Vola, food is more than just a business; it's her way of introducing people to "the beautiful side" of where she came from.
"I get goosebumps thinking about getting the word out there about Cameroonian food."
She says it can be difficult to do this because Cameroon is unfamiliar to many, but she's determined. "I wanted to show people how I was raised…how my mum, auntie and grandmother raised me. That's all I want – to give people a taste of Africa, of my heritage."
The local reception has been overwhelming.
"It makes me emotional. My eyes are getting watery…I'm so grateful to our neighbours and our community. We all know each other. If anyone is going through something, we help each other out."
She says her business is like family. "That's how I always wanted the business to be. I want people to walk in here and feel like they're walking into my grandmother's house."
30 Ovens Street Brunswick, Victoria
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