African cuisine is gaining new footholds across the globe thanks in part to a cadre of exceptional chefs, who are touting its wonders. Embracing tradition and innovation, they are elevating African cooking and attracting a huge following. Before opening his Afro-fusion restaurant, Meza Malonga, in Kigali, Rwanda, Congolese chef Dieuveil Malonga traveled to 48 African countries to scout ingredients and recipes. Chef Fatmata Binta grew up in Sierra Leone, where she learned the cooking customs of the Fulani, a nomadic tribe. Sunday lunch was a “celebrated event,” says Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen. The chef took these lessons abroad to Nice, France, where he opened his first restaurant, Jan, in 2013. In just three years, he became the first South African chef with a Michelin-starred restaurant. Pick up chef, writer, and food stylist Yewande Komolafe’s new book, My Everyday Lagos: Nigerian Cooking at Home and in the Diaspora. Komolafe takes readers on a culinary tour of the Nigerian capital, with ideas for everyday dishes.
