Just close your eyes and imagine the look on the face of a European visiting Uganda for the first time wondering why the respected Swiss watch brand– Rolex, is being sold at roadside stands only to be shocked later that in Uganda, it is a type of food.
In Uganda, Rolex is not a watch but a rolled chapatti with two or more eggs (depending on your appetite) carefully and strategically mixed with tomatoes, onions, cabbages, or carrots just like the biggest Fast Food Gurus in the world for example McDonald’s or Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC).
In fact, if you ask a random Ugandan what a Rolex is an answer you that it is a watch, he will be considered the most ignorant Ugandan for failure to answer a question which even a seven-year-old can answer without hesitation or he is simply not a Ugandan!
For many years, Rolex has remained the number one delicacy for young people, university students, and bachelors all over Uganda. This is because be it breakfast, lunch, or dinner, the Rolex is the greatest companion of all time. It is just a snack without borders!
From Kampala to Wandegeya, Mukono, Jinja, Fort Portal, or Gulu, you can never miss setting your eyes on a Rolex stand in the nearest marketplace. Most being in strategic positions usually staged at the front places so as to make the purchase easy for the customers. However, care must be exercised in choosing where to buy due to health concerns for some vendors might be dirty.
The “Rolex invention”, is believed to have originated from Wandegeya around 2003 by a man called Sula who first sought the idea of selling chapatti with scrambled eggs together. At only UGX 500 by then, one could get a heavy Rolex and begin belching away in satisfaction.
His invention was indeed a novel (original). It soon become popular for Makerere University students not only due to its rareness but because it was a fast snack to be relied on during rush hours and when times were hard. It was from this that it later spread like a wildfire to different places around the country and now becoming part of our identity and uniqueness only found in Uganda.
Today, you can find Rolex stands almost anywhere in Uganda but most especially in the central, eastern, southern, and western parts of the country. It is even sold inexpensive restaurants around the city which comes with paying a little extra buck due to the economic environment. It is loved due to it being a relatively inexpensive meal and delicious thus being a delicacy for most low-income earners today.
Surprisingly, learning how to make a Rolex or chapattis, does not require extraordinary skills or first going to school. It is something easy to learn just by following the steps being used by the seller. Perhaps, what is required is balance and stamina to be able to do a perfect timing of the procedures to make one. Maybe that explains why it is rare to find a lady selling them.
If you want to make a business out of it, all you need is a small start-up capital of less than UGX 100, 000 to be able to buy a charcoal stove, frying pan, wheat flour, salt, water, and cooking oil as the basic requirements. Having a good name for your stand will also make you win hearts for example “Dembe’s Rolex Productions”, “Rolex Lovers Zone”, “Obama Rolex Care” and “Katende Fried Rolex (KFR) because as they say… it is all about first impressions.
#ProudlyUgandan
