Sometimes you have to ask, and you really might receive.

One Cameroonian in Toronto entered Canada’s “Dragon Den” — an unscripted television show that allows aspiring Canadian entrepreneurs to pitch for investments to a panel of venture capitalists — looking for an investment in his business.

Ultimately, he left with more than what he was asking for.

What is Jollof Rice?

If you’ve been living under a rock and are wondering what Jollof rice is, there’s no judgment here, but we will help you to gather your life.

The dish stems from West Africa and is typically made up of long-grain rice, tomatoes, onions, spices, vegetables, and meat that are combined and prepared in a single pot.

Who Has The Best Jollof?

Now, if you were to head to Twitter to ask who has the best rice, it may differ depending on your audience.

Some say it’s Nigeria, others say it’s Ghana, but after this man’s ask of $60,000 for 10 percent of the company turned into him accepting a $600,000 offer, one may beg to differ.

Introducing Taltis Foods Canada

“Many years ago I came to Canada and very soon, I started suffering from homesickness,” said Gilles Tchianga, as he addressed the investors who are referred to as “Dragons” on the show. “Twelve years later and I’m living in one of the most multicultural cities in the world and, yet, African products are nowhere to be found. Dragons, today I am about to show you how you can become an African cuisine chef [within] minutes.”

From there, he proceeded with his demonstration, walking the panelists through how to properly use his products, called Taltis Foods Canada. The cuisine includes both authentic African foods and beverages.

The Offer Of A Lifetime

And as the saying goes, the rest was history because the investors were blown away once they got to the taste-testing portion of the presentation.

Afterward, Wes Hall — Executive Chairman and Founder of Kingsdale Advisors — presented him with the offer of a lifetime of $600,000 in funding for his company, which consisted of:

  • $100,000 for 33 percent of the company
  • $500,000 as a loan

“This is a great moment for me, since I came to Canada, I had been dreaming this, I had been dreaming [of] that day when I can have my own business and contribute to the diversity,” said Tchianga to the group, who had soon become teary-eyed from his passion and gratitude for the opportunity.

According to the website for his company, Taltis Foods combines Canadian ingredients and authentic African spices to deliver unique tastes to consumers in products that are ready-to-use with “no refined sugar added, no preservatives, and no MSG.”