Having come to the United States to study physics and chemistry, it was by happy accident that Senegalese-born Pierre Thiam ultimately chose to pursue a career in cooking, discovering a passion for it through student jobs. With enthusiasm and perseverance, he climbed every rung of the ladder, becoming head chef and then opening his first restaurant in New York in 2001.
Today, at the helm of the Teranga restaurant chain and the company Yolélé Foods, award-winning author, international speaker, and philanthropist, he uses his international reputation to serve African gastronomy, which he intends to bring the recognition it deserves.
Raised in Senegal, you built your career in the United States: how has your journey shaped your cuisine? I cut my teeth in the kitchens of French and Italian restaurants in New York. It was fascinating to be a young cook in this “culinary capital of the world.” Yet one thing struck me: the cuisine from back home was almost completely absent. The flavors of my childhood, my mother’s and aunts’ dishes, the delicious street food of Dakar—lovingly prepared by the expert hands of women from Togo and Benin—were invisible in this gastronomic landscape. Didn’t this culinary richness, this patchwork of tastes and traditions, also deserve its place in this capital of gastronomy? It was this absence that inspired me to orient my culinary career by placing Africa at the heart of my journey—as my guiding star. My cuisine draws inspiration from the culinary traditions of West Africa. It is characterized by its simplicity and by highlighting often unknown or underused ingredients, such as fonio. In short, it is a contemporary reinterpretation of my culinary tradition, enriched with a New York touch—this adopted city where I spent most of my formative years.
You have been a pioneer in promoting African gastronomy internationally: do you think the situation has evolved? Yes, the situation has evolved greatly. Today, we see more and more fine dining restaurants showcasing African flavors—something that was still very rare just a few years ago. Young chefs, whether from the continent or the diaspora, now seek to anchor themselves in their origins and to be proud of them. With the increased media coverage of the culinary world, this trend can only grow. Cuisine is becoming a space for identity and cultural expression.
You yourself have supported the emergence of several young African chefs in the United States: who are they? I have always believed it was essential to encourage-and mentor-young African chefs to pursue a culinary path rooted in our traditions. Not only for their own fulfillment, but also so that they, in turn, become passionate ambassadors of the richness and diversity of African cuisines. I am particularly proud of my younger brother Serigne Mbaye, whose restaurant Nola was named best restaurant of the year in the United States by the James Beard Awards. Before reaching that point, he worked alongside me, notably on projects in Barcelona and Louisiana. Another promising talent, Pape Mbengue, is also building a fine career in North Carolina. He has accompanied me on many culinary journeys, with curiosity, rigor, and passion. Seeing this new generation of African chefs rise, assert themselves, and make our culinary heritages shine on a global scale reinforces my belief that we are experiencing an African gastronomic renaissance. And it is an honor to contribute to it, even in a small way.
What are the strengths of African cuisine in its quest for international recognition? Our traditional food pyramid is largely plant-based, built on leafy vegetables, legumes, a wide variety of beans, ancient grains, and fruits. These cuisines, rich in ancestral knowledge, are not only nutritious and balanced, but also deeply sustainable. Yet, they too often remain invisible or relegated to the background. It is time to change that. To recognize and value these culinary heritages as concrete solutions to the challenges of public health, food sovereignty, and ecological transition. Let’s put them back at the heart of our plates and our collective narratives.
You promote these African ingredients through a range of food products: what can you tell us about that? I launched the Yolélé range 7-8 years ago with the ambition of becoming a reference brand for African food products. Today, we offer a range of fonio-based products-including pilafs and chips with African flavors-distributed in many stores across the United States. Beyond the consumer brand, we have also introduced fonio to the brewing industry, through the Brewing for Impact movement. Now that we have succeeded in generating growing demand, our priority is to be able to meet it sustainably by integrating the value chain of our products, in collaboration with small producers in West Africa. Ultimately, our ambition is to highlight a whole range of ingredients stemming from regenerative agriculture, practiced by African smallholder farmers within family farms.
Are books also a way to share this vision of African cuisine with as many people as possible? Absolutely! A restaurant is limited by its number of tables and the four walls that enclose it. A book allows you to reach a wider audience. When I started writing my first book, dedicated to Senegalese cuisine, it was almost impossible to find a publisher interested. But once a publishing house finally agreed to publish me, the book was named a finalist for the prestigious Julia Child Award, which changed everything. The general public, long conditioned by the media to see Africa through the lens of famine and conflict, discovered through this book a continent of abundance and culinary richness. Today, I am on my fourth book, and I have had the immense honor of being inducted into the James Beard Award Cookbook Hall of Fame.
Alongside your career in the USA, you have chosen to take over establishments in Africa: is this commitment important to you? Yes, cooking in Africa has always been a dream for me. It was a natural next step because that is where the very source of my inspiration lies. So, when the opportunity to open a restaurant in Lagos came up, I did not hesitate. During my many research trips across the continent, I often lamented the lack of high-end restaurants showcasing our local cuisines, reinterpreted with finesse. Nok by Alara, in Nigeria, gave me the chance to show what that could be. The venue, designed by architect David Adjaye, combined resolutely contemporary architecture with a boldly African chic interior aesthetic. The menu, for its part, was inspired by cuisines from across the West African sub-region. I wanted Nok’s cuisine to be a true celebration of the richness and diversity of West African products: niébé, attiéké, bitter leaves, baobab, nététou… From Benin to Côte d’Ivoire, from Senegal to Nigeria, each dish invited guests on a culinary journey transcending colonial borders. Another great opportunity to work on the continent was offered to me by the Pullman Hotel in Dakar, which invited me to design a signature menu. I greatly appreciated this experience, especially for the impact it had on young local cooks. Many of them were not particularly interested in the cuisine of their terroir, and it was a privilege to be able to awaken their curiosity and pride.
Do you think we are witnessing the emergence of a new generation of cooks in Africa? Absolutely. I am fascinated by the growing number of young people who contact me to share their passion and desire to pursue a career in gastronomy. It is a wonderful development, full of hope for the future of our cuisines. The Saint-Louis Forum, held a few years ago in Senegal, is a fine example. I had the privilege of bringing together a group of exceptional African chefs. Among them were Dieuveil Malonga, who is doing remarkable work in Rwanda with his restaurant Maison Malonga, Coco Reinhardt, based between Kinshasa and Johannesburg, Loïc Dablé from Côte d’Ivoire, and Michael Elegbede from Nigeria. All are chefs of great stature, each carrying a unique vision of our culinary heritages. We shared a unique moment, rich in exchanges and flavors, which reflected the diversity and creativity of our cuisines. I sincerely hope that this type of initiative will multiply. We have everything to gain by creating spaces for dialogue, transmission, and collaboration among the continent’s talents. Today, we have the opportunity-and the responsibility-to build a future where our cuisines are no longer marginalized, but recognized, celebrated, and passed on. By uniting our strengths, talents, and stories, we can make African cuisine an essential pillar of global gastronomy.
