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The snack that tells the time

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The snack that tells the time

A brief history of Rolex

Doug Mack / Snack Stack
May 5, 2021
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The snack that tells the time

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Hello, Snackers. Today on Snack Stack:

Rolex

Credit: Teefe Timothy Mulindwa / Wikipedia Commons

The basics

A wrap sandwich consisting of an omelet inside a chapati. The name is a pun on “rolled eggs.” No fancy watches here.

Find it in

Uganda

The intel

Sometime in the 1990s, in the Busoga region of Uganda, a chapati vendor tried something new, cooking an omelet and rolling it up in the flatbread to make a wrap sandwich. It was filling, it was easy to make, it was cheap, and it was immediately popular. More vendors started selling them, including near the campus of Makerere University, in Kampala, where it turned out to be the perfect quick meal for students. One vendor, named Sula, sold Rolex outside clubs on Friday and Saturday nights, and is generally credited with the being the guy who made the dish a big deal in Uganda.

These days, there are all kinds of variations on the Rolex across Uganda, from regional specialties to the behemoth known as “Swazzneggar Rolex,” named for Arnold Schwarzenegger and featuring an omelet made from six to eight eggs. The dish has even become a national symbol of sorts, as Ugandan officials have started promoting the Rolex to tourists as a distinctive local food, and established an annual Rolex Festival in Kampala, featuring chefs from around Uganda and other countries (Kenya, India, and Mexico were recent featured guests) to show off their own takes on the savory snack.

Get it here

Food stands across Uganda, or the Rolex Festival.

Will you like it? 

Probably!

Read more

Daily Monitor: “In Uganda, ‘Rolex’ Means Time for an Egg Snack”

Ozy: “How to Eat a Rolex”

From The Economic Times, some background on how chapati made its way from India to become a popular street food in East Africa

Trevor Noah is a fan of Rolex:

Twitter avatar for @Trevornoah
Trevor Noah @Trevornoah
OK Uganda, you win. I'll try to visit sometime. But when I land, I want the original Rolex made by Sula in Wandegeya #TrevorNoahVisitsUganda
7:26 PM ∙ Mar 24, 2017
5,216Likes3,029Retweets

Happy snacking!

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