Serigne Mbaye (chef)
Serigne Mbaye | |
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| Born | 1994 (age 31–32) |
| Education | New England Culinary Institute |
| Culinary career | |
Current restaurant
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Awards won
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Serigne Mbaye (born 1994) is a Senegalese-American chef and restauranteur best known for his Senegalese-Creole restaurant Dakar NOLA, which is located in New Orleans. He won the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in 2024 and was named to the Time 100 Next list that same year. He was awarded the James Beard Award for Best Chef (South) in 2026.
Biography
Mbaye was born in Harlem, New York, to a mother who was a restauranteur.[1] He attended a Muslim boarding school in Dakar, Senegal, where his family was from,[2][3] starting at the age of 5. The first dish he learned how to make was a traditional Senegalese Lakh, which he learned at the age of 9.[4]
At around 14 or 15, he moved back to New York and started working at a restaurant called The Harrison. Soon, he attended culinary school at the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont.[5] He then began working at Commander's Palace after meeting people at the airport who put him in touch with the executive chef. He became Sous Chef for Cafe Adelaide, before working at Atelier Crenn and L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon between 2018 and 2020.[6] He first launched his restaurant, Dakar, a restaurant focused on seafood and utilizing both Senegalese and Creole[7] flavors,[8] as a popup over the pandemic, and opened it as a brick and mortar store in 2022 with the help of business partner Effie Richardson.[9][10] He has stated his goal is to make Senegalese cuisine notable on the global stage.[11] In June 2026, it moved to a larger location.[12]
He was named Eater NOLA's Chef of the Year in 2021,[13] and was named a nominee for the James Beard Award for Best Emerging Chef in 2022[14] and 2023.[15] His restaurant Dakar won the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in 2024.[16][17] He was named in the Time 100 Next in 2024: his profile was written by Kwame Onwuachi.[18][19] He then became a semifinalist for Best Chef (South) in the James Beard Award in 2026[20][21], and went on to win the award.[22]
He will be participating in the Chef's Table Festival in Utah in the summer of 2026.[23]
References
- ↑ Gomez-Misserian, Gabriela (2023-03-30). "Chef Serigne Mbaye Bridges Senegal and NOLA". Garden & Gun. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
- ↑ "From Senegal to New Orleans: Serigne Mbaye's Improbable Story". THE CHEF RADIO PODCAST 2.0. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
- ↑ "Serigne Mbaye's Thieboudienne". The Local Palate. 2022-08-19. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
- ↑ Price, Todd A. (2018-10-25). "Meet Serigne Mbaye: 2019 Chef to Watch". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2026-05-17.
- ↑ "Afro Freedom Afro Feast Juneteenth Celebration hosted by Chef Serigne Mbaye and Dakar NOLA". #AFROFREEDOMAFROFEAST. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
- ↑ Satterfield, Stephen (2019-10-03). "Chef Serigne Mbaye Thinks There's a Lot More to Learn About Senegalese Cuisine". Eater. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
- ↑ "A New Orleans Chef Finds a Place for Fusion in the Black Diaspora's Cuisine". Food 52. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
- ↑ Spurrell, Megan (2026-02-02). "Where the Chefs Eat: Serigne Mbaye's New Orleans Crawl". Condé Nast Traveler. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
- ↑ "Chef Serigne Mbaye | New Orleans". www.neworleans.com. Retrieved 2026-05-17.
- ↑ "Chef Serigne Mbaye's Shrimp and Fonio "Grits"". 2025-01-31. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
- ↑ Klashman, Fred (2025-04-01). "Q&A with Serigne Mbaye, Chef, Dakar NOLA: Modern Senegalese Cuisine with a Creole Twist". Retrieved 2026-05-18.
- ↑ McNulty, Ian (2026-06-15). "NOLA restaurant that started as a pop-up won its second James Beard award in two years". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2026-06-18.
- ↑ Lorell, Clair (2021-12-08). "Here Are New Orleans's 2021 Eater Awards Winners". Eater Nola. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
- ↑ "The 2022 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards Nominees". www.jamesbeard.org. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
- ↑ "The 2023 James Beard Awards Semifinalists". www.jamesbeard.org. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
- ↑ Lorell, Clair (2024-06-11). "New Orleans Wins Big at the 2024 James Beard Awards". Eater Nola. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
- ↑ Price, Todd A. "Will the South embrace Senegalese cooking? One young chef has a plan". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
- ↑ Onwuachi, Kwame. "Serigne Mbaye". Time.
- ↑ "TIME Names Chef Serigne Mbaye of Dakar NOLA to the 2024 TIME100 Next List - Biz New Orleans". 2024-10-02. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
- ↑ "James Beard Award Semifinalists 2026". www.jamesbeard.org. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
- ↑ "Chef Serigne Mbaye earns James Beard semifinalist nod as Dakar NOLA's rise continues". wwltv.com. 2026-02-04. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
- ↑ Brasted, Chelsea (2026-06-16). "New Orleans chef wins top honors at James Beard Awards". Axios. Retrieved 2026-06-18.
- ↑ Roti, Jessi (2026-05-14). "The Team Behind Netflix's 'Chef's Table' Is Launching Its First Food Festival This Summer". Bon Appétit. Retrieved 2026-05-18.