When people hear the word ‘Rolex’ what runs in their mind is a Swiss Luxury Watch! But in Uganda “Rolex” is some tasty street food. The word ‘Rolex’ comes from the idea that chapati and the omelette are rolled together. Rolex is a popular delicacy in Uganda which is a combination of an egg, onions and vegetables omelette rolled up in a chapati. This dish is quick to prepare, and can be taken at any time of the day from breakfast to any other meal time. In 2016, CNN named Rolex among world’s famous fast foods.

The origin of a “Rolex” in Uganda

The “Rolex invention”, is believed to have originated from Wandegeya around 2003 by a chapati seller called Sula who first sought the idea of selling chapatti with scrambled eggs together.  His creativeness was because Makerere University students always needed a quick meal because of time and financial limitations. He sold it at only UGX 500 by then. Students could get a heavy Rolex and begin belching away in satisfaction.

However, the delicacy soon spread like wild fire all over Uganda. It is now very useful food for people who really enjoy tasty foods. From Kampala to Wandegeya, Mukono, Jinja, Fort Portal or Gulu, you can never miss setting your eyes on a Rolex stand in the nearest market place. Most being in strategic positions usually staged at the front places so as to make 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.

Today, you can find Rolex stands almost anywhere in Uganda but most especially the central, eastern, southern and western parts of the country. It is even sold in expensive 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.

The origin of the Rolex festival

It was timely in that it was at the time when Former Miss Tourism winner Enid Mirembe from Busoga showed how proud she was being and Eastern and she had to do something with the Rolex. In Uganda the Basoga are famous for being the best chapati makers. That was how the Rolex Festival was born and, in that year, it happened for the first time in a very successful edition. It went on with the second edition in 2016, and the Rolex Festival will return on August 19 under the theme “Street Smart”. This will focus on sensitizing street food vendors to operate their businesses smartly by meeting quality assurance, hygiene, health and environment standards.

Well, if your planning to visit Kampala on your Uganda safari, try the Rolex street snack either on the streets of Kampala or in your hotel/lodge. Ask a guide to show you where to buy a Rolex in Uganda or travel with Kampala city tours for all city adventures in Uganda.  Uganda is truly the Pearl of Africa.

Why you must attend the Rolex festival.

The Rolex Festival seeks to grow food tourism in Uganda as a key driver in the tourism sector, support the SME sector through business education and creation of awareness of their products and also popularize the Rolex on the world map as Uganda’s very own fast and street food.

The festival will contain 20 street activations in Kampala, Entebbe and Jinja which will help crown the best vendor with modern and best services. This means revelers will have a chance to taste various types of Rolex as a way to enjoy the day.

For the fashion lovers, the event will provide an atmosphere where anything classy and sassy can fit. Being a family event, the festival provides kids’ play stations as a way to keep them busy as elders share light moments.

There will be exciting performances from Cinderella Sanyu, Vinka, Fik Fameica, Slick Stuart, Roger and dancer Eddy Wizzy among others.

Sponsors

Sponsored by Galaxy FM and Coca-Cola among others, the festival will be held on Sunday, August 19 at the Ugandan Museum grounds.