Chef Anto

When I was 9, my mother told me that I’d be the one to replace her when she was no longer around. So I learned to cook very early on, in the kitchen with my grandmother, my aunts and my cousins. I always loved that environment. We’d gossip and sing, and the mothers would hand down advice to their daughters – not just cooking tips, but about life in general, especially married life. That’s when I decided to become a chef. I knew it would be fun.

I’ve always had a healthy appetite. My mother used to wonder how I stayed so slim; she’d ask me where I put it all! Mostly, I was curious to understand why we cooked food the way we did, and wanted to learn about combining different flavours. My favourite dish at the time – actually, it’s still my favourite – was wild boar with dika. Dika is the kernel of the wild mango tree, which we roast and grind into a sauce. In France they call it ‘native chocolate’ because it looks and smells like chocolate, although the flavour is totally different. It’s perfect with full-flavoured meat like game.

France is the natural place to learn to cook – it’s the only place to go. My parents saw cooking as more of a maid’s job, but I promised them I’d make them proud, and I couldn’t let them down. It was very hard at first. It was cold, it was a completely different culture, and I’d left my roots behind. And the food was different too – there was no little pot of chilli on the table in the college refectory! I was the only black African at college and on my work placements. But I kept going, thanks mainly to my teachers and mentors;
I’m thinking particularly of Eric Pras, a 3-star Michelin chef, now at Maison Lameloise, in Bourgogne.

My cooking is Pan-African, but not fusion. My ingredients are all African, but I cook and present them in a gastronomic style. My aim is to take people on a journey around Africa – to reveal its treasures to those who’ve never been, and to remind those who already know it what they’ve left behind.