Zimbabwean Grocery and Butchery Shops in the UK: Finding Matemba, Dried Vegetables, and Specialist Cuts

For Zimbabweans living in the UK, recreating the flavours of home is both a comfort and a cultural necessity. The good news is that the diaspora community has grown large enough to support a range of dedicated shops, online retailers, and market traders who stock the specific ingredients that make Zimbabwean cooking distinctive — from matemba and dried vegetables to specialist meat cuts. ## Matemba and Dried Fish Matemba (also known as kapenta) are small dried fish that form a cornerstone of Zimbabwean cuisine, particularly in provinces close to Lake Kariba and Cahora Bassa. Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, iron, iodine, and protein, matemba are typically cooked with tomatoes, onion, garlic, and spices, then served alongside sadza. In the UK, dried matemba can be found at African grocery stores across London, Birmingham, Coventry, and other cities with significant Zimbabwean and southern African populations. Online retailers such as zimfoods.co.uk and hungwetuckshop.co.uk ship nationally and stock matemba alongside other Zimbabwean staples. When buying from physical shops, African and Caribbean markets — particularly those in Dalston (Ridley Road Market), Peckham, Brixton, and Woolwich in London — often carry dried fish products. Always check packaging for country of origin and that products have passed UK food import standards. ## Dried Vegetables: Mufushwa and Muboora Dried vegetables — including mufushwa (dried rape or collard greens) and dried pumpkin leaves (muboora) — are harder to find than matemba but not impossible. Dedicated Zimbabwean online shops are the most reliable source, as general African supermarkets tend to stock West and East African dried goods rather than southern African varieties. It is worth joining Zimbabwean community Facebook groups (such as Zimbabweans in the UK) to get word-of-mouth recommendations for local suppliers, as stock availability changes frequently and some sellers operate informally from home. ## Zimbabwean Snacks and Pantry Staples Products like Lobels biscuits, Cerevita, Proton crisps, Royco usavi mix, Mazoe cordial, and fresh or dried mauyu (baobab fruit) are increasingly available through UK-based online retailers. Zimfoods.co.uk is among the more established platforms, shipping across the UK and internationally, with a buy-now-pay-later option available. Hungwe Tuckshop, based in Woolwich, London, offers collection and delivery, and operates city-to-city delivery runs — contact them directly for schedules. Prices for imported Zimbabwean products reflect shipping and import costs: expect to pay £2.50–£7 for individual snack and condiment items. ## Meat Cuts: What Zimbabweans Look For Zimbabwean cooking uses cuts that are not always prioritised in mainstream UK supermarkets but are generally available from African and halal butchers. Offal — including tripe (matumbu), liver, kidneys, and ox tails — is central to many Zimbabwean dishes and widely sold at halal butchers across the UK. Halal meat practices share some characteristics with Zimbabwean preferences for freshly slaughtered, whole-animal butchery, making halal shops a practical choice for sourcing these cuts. While there is no formal kosher-adjacent equivalence in Zimbabwean food culture, the emphasis on clean, properly bled meat means many Zimbabweans are comfortable purchasing from halal-certified butchers. African butcheries in areas like Peckham, Lewisham, and Handsworth (Birmingham) are also worth seeking out. ## Cane Rat: A Legal Note Cane rat (also known as grasscutter) is a delicacy in parts of southern and West Africa. Its sale in the UK has been a subject of controversy. Reports from Ridley Road Market in Dalston, Hackney, highlighted the illegal sale of unverified bush meat, with food safety enforcement concerns raised publicly as far back as 2012. The legal position in the UK is clear: wild-caught bush meat imported outside official veterinary channels is illegal and a food safety risk. There is currently no legal, commercially available supply of cane rat in the UK. Anyone selling it is doing so outside food safety regulations, and purchasing or consuming such meat carries genuine health risks. This is distinct from legally imported exotic meats (such as game from registered suppliers), and Zimbabweans should be aware of the distinction. ## Finding Shops Near You Beyond dedicated Zimbabwean retailers, general directories such as afroko.co.uk list African and Caribbean grocery stores by London neighbourhood, covering areas including Barking, Thornton Heath, Hackney, Stratford, and Twickenham. For Birmingham and Coventry, community Facebook groups and WhatsApp networks remain the most current source of shop recommendations, as the scene is more fragmented than in London. Woolwich Arsenal is a particularly active hub for Zimbabwean community commerce in South East London.