At the Igbo table, meals are not arranged in French-style courses: everything revolves around a generous soup base (ofe) that is spooned over a ball of pounded starch (fufu: yam, cassava, or gari) and eaten with the right hand. A gathering always begins with the sharing of kola nut, and words are sealed over palm wine. Chili and red palm oil accompany almost everything, while clear broths are reserved for healing and restoring.

Red palm oil, extracted from the oil palm, gives Igbo soups their deep ochre color and creaminess; dried and ground egusi melon seeds thicken them and add a round umami richness. These are the two pillars of the cuisine that Chinua Achebe knew in Ogidi.