Because dinner is so late in the evening, dishes will be left until the next morning for whoever's turn it is to do them. Lunch dishes will be washed directly after lunch in the heat of the day, as it's already time to start cooking dinner by the time lunch is over.
The food culture here reflects local customs and norms at every turn.
The homogeneity of the community here dictates that everyone rotates the same few dishes for every breakfast, lunch and dinner. For example, when a friend comes over to chat with my host mom while she's cooking, the friend can help without missing a beat because everyone cooks the same meals in the exact same way. As I've learned from experience, there are not two ways to skin a fish in this case, only one, and no one would dare disagree.
It must be noted that Senegal does not have a lot of product coming in from countries that grow other foods so resources are not only limited in quanitity but also in scope.
Because of the heat and the culture of late nights here, all meals are eaten very late. Breakfast is between 10 and 11am. Lunch is typically between 2pm and 4pm, and dinner is after 8 pm. In the summer months, dinner was often served around 10:30pm.
As women are the ones who cook the food, source the ingredients and do the dishes, they are also the providers around the bowl during the meal time. Men and guests will eat with a spoon, but girls and women will exclusively eat with their fingers. They will pull apart the meats and vegetables in the bowl and distribute them to the men throughout the meal, serving themselves and the children last.
