Uganda's Rolex street food featured by CNN Travel

CNN Travel published a May 13 article on Uganda’s “Rolex,” a street food made by wrapping an omelet in chapati, and reported that the dish has grown from roadside fare into a national staple. The story, by Griffin Shea from Kampala, centered on vendor preparation, the dish’s name and the way it is sold across Uganda. CNN’s reporting also highlighted restaurant owner Emmanuel Jonathan Okello, who described the snack as both everyday food and a point of national identity. ### Why is Uganda’s “Rolex” not a watch? Emmanuel Jonathan Okello told CNN that “Rolex” in Uganda refers to food, not jewelry. Okello said the name came from “rolled egg,” a reference to the way vendors place an omelet on chapati and roll it into a wrap. CNN reported that the dish is now widely recognized as a Ugandan national food. (travel.yahoo.com) The article said the base preparation is simple: eggs, chapati and vegetables, usually including cabbage and tomatoes. ### How do vendors actually make one? CNN described a street-side method built around a thin omelet and flatbread cooked to order. (travel.yahoo.com) The report said the eggs are scrambled and cooked into a crepe-like omelet, then flipped onto chapati before vegetables are added and the whole mixture is rolled into a wrap. The article said chapati in Uganda traces back to Indian communities brought by the British to build railways around the turn of the last century. (travel.yahoo.com) CNN reported that Ugandans adapted the bread into a softer flatbread with a crispier edge, using wheat flour, salt, warm water and oil. ### How cheap is it, and who helped spread it? (travel.yahoo.com) CNN reported that street Rolexes cost about 20 U.S. cents, a price the article said helped make them popular with students. The report said the move from an eastern Uganda laborers’ meal to a national dish was driven in large part by university demand for a filling, low-cost food. (travel.yahoo.com) Okello told CNN he discovered the dish as a student and later built a restaurant menu around it. CNN also reported that his higher-end “everything” version sells for about $5.50 and that he has branches in Kampala and Entebbe. ### How far has the dish moved beyond the roadside stall? CNN reported that the Rolex is now sold in markets across Uganda and has also appeared on café menus and in fine-dining settings outside the country. (travel.yahoo.com) Okello told CNN that a visit to Jinja, where he encountered a vendor adding fried tripe, pushed him to experiment with many more fillings. The article listed combinations including beef sausage, chicken gravy, curry, bacon, avocados and minced beef. That range matches broader reporting that the Rolex is sold in multiple forms, from basic street versions to restaurant adaptations with added ingredients. ### Why does the Rolex keep showing up in tourism coverage? (travel.yahoo.com) The Conversation reported in January 2025 that CNN had ranked the Rolex Africa’s best street food in 2016. The same article said Uganda’s Ministry of Tourism declared the Rolex an official tourist attraction that year, placing it alongside the country’s better-known travel draws. (travel.yahoo.com) Uganda now has an annual Rolex festival, according to CNN’s May 13 article and Uganda tourism listings. A Visit Uganda events page lists the 2026 Rolex Festival for August 29-30 at Lugogo Cricket Oval in Kampala. On May 21-23, 2026, Uganda’s Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo is scheduled to showcase the Rolex among featured foods at Speke Resort Munyonyo, according to Uganda Radio Network. (theconversation.com) Later in the year, the Visit Uganda events page lists the Rolex Festival in Kampala as the next named public event centered on the dish. (ugandaradionetwork.net) (travel.yahoo.com)