With talented chefs excelling both at home and in the diaspora, there has never been a more exciting time for African haute cuisine.

A bright and colorful dish is lowered onto the table, placed just in front of the flickering candle. Beautifully presented and mouth-wateringly enticing, the beef in honey and palm wine sauce, sweet potato puree with njangsa, and peas with dawadawa is the third course of eight (or ten if the diner so wishes!) to be served at the Meza Malonga restaurant in Kigali, Rwanda, where a dining experience can last over three hours.

Travel + Leisure and Food & Wine have acclaimed Meza Malonga as one of the best restaurants in the world.

The kitchen is headed by award-winning Congolese chef Dieuveil Malonga (pictured), who aims to take diners on a gastronomic tour of Central and Eastern African cuisines, surprising them with tastes and ingredients they are unlikely to have experienced before.

Recognized in the Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 list, Malonga founded the social enterprise Chefs in Africa to help train future chefs on the continent. Speaking with Africa News earlier this year, Malonga said that his aim is to have the first Michelin-starred restaurant in Africa, and to “promote the continent’s outstanding chefs and unique ingredients,” adding that “this is an important time for African gastronomy.”

Reimagined for a modern palate.
Indeed, Malonga and his restaurant are just one of the many African restaurants and chefs whose star continues to rise. Traditional African dishes are being reimagined for a modern palate, featuring sustainable, locally-sourced ingredients and bold, unique flavors.

Outside the African continent, diaspora chefs who grew up and trained in Africa are taking their recipes and talent across the globe, and diners can't get enough of them.

Senegalese pastry chef Mame Sow was born in Dakar but emigrated to New York as a teenager and was one of the creators of the African Shoebox Bakery in Dubai. Speaking to the BBC, Sow revealed that her favorite dessert to make is her Gauteau Dakar, a vanilla cake with baobab mousse and hibiscus jam and glaze, which she describes as "a love letter to Senegal."

Further south in the U.S., Senegalese-American chef Serigne Mbaye, owner of Dakar NOLA in Louisiana, has curated a unique menu that explores the culinary and cultural connections between Senegal and New Orleans. The menu is inspired by his childhood memories of Africa, and in 2024, Dakar NOLA won the prestigious James Beard Award in the "Best New Restaurant" category.
Good food, decades in the making.
For years, prior to the explosion of African cuisine onto the global food scene, opportunities to enjoy African ingredients and foods were few and far between. Most were found in select pockets of cities such as London and Paris, which are home to large diaspora communities.

From the mid-twentieth century, grocery stores in areas of London, such as Brixton and Hackney, began selling African foodstuffs and home-cooked meals to newcomers from countries like Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria, who started to arrive to work in the UK following labor shortages after World War II.

The African food scene in Paris developed more rapidly, following the arrival of citizens from North and West African countries after they gained their independence. An area near Montmartre became known as Little Africa due to its high population of African citizens.

Since the late 20th century, traditional African food, including fried plantain, safou fruit, baobab juice, and more, has been available to anyone wandering through this neighborhood.

Main reservations.
In 2023, West African food represented the top trending cuisine on the restaurant booking website Open Table, rising 72% year-on-year. In 2024, Adejoké Bakare and Serigne Mbaye made history by earning prestigious culinary accolades. On September 11, Nigerian chef Tolu Eros kicked off his multi-city "A Taste of Culture" food tour, taking his pan-African creations on the road across the U.S.

What does the near future hold for African gastronomy? The South African restaurant chain Mozambik is making its U.S. debut with plans to open in Houston, Texas. Senegalese chef Pierre Thiam is advocating for the sustainable West African grain fonio to become the next global superfood, following the popularity of foods like kale and quinoa. With the star power of African cuisine continuing to grow at an astronomical rate, the sky is the limit for the continent’s culinary stage.

Source of the article: african.business