Food is a love language

Have you heard about Suya Spice or Kankan? If yes, you are a real one. If not, well, you also are a real one but let us introduce you to Adé.

Adé is a beautiful young lady, a Chef who specializes in Modern West African Cuisine. She was born and raised in Porto-Novo, Benin from the Nago tribe, until she was adopted at the age of 10. From there, she grew up in a Puerto-Rican home in Connecticut.

According to Adé, cooking has always been a huge part of her life due to the influence of seeing her mother and grandmother cook, and also them having a stand where they were selling Togolese and Beninese food. And in the United States, she had always been blessed with women cooking around her: “So many ask how did I get started…. It’s simple really. It’s in my blood.

Therefore, Adé hosts pop-up dinners in which she showcases the food and culture of Benin and West Africa in general. She has an IG page called @dounou_cuisine where she gives us a taste of her cooking, culture and experiences. She also just launched a spice line @ilewafoods (The Suya Blend) in which the ingredients are sourced from women in the local markets of Benin. Suya Spices are usually used to marinate skewers, chicken or any other type of meat and even veggies. It’s a spicy, nutty and smoky blend, the key flavor is the ground roasted peanuts.

Adé said, her mission is to bridge cultural gaps and educate people on West African food and culture.