A New Orleans chef finds a place for fusion in the Black diaspora’s cuisine

This story first appeared on Food52, an online community that gives you everything you need for a happier kitchen and home – that means tested recipes, a shop full of beautiful products, a cooking hotline, and everything in between! "When my mom makes good food, she focuses on the food that she can get in that pot, not about what's going on somewhere else," Mbaye recalls of his mother's cooking. "As I continue learning more about the connection between the two, I'm realizing the fact I need to tell this story about the between Senegal and New Orleans, because knowing these connections is how we understand more about our diaspora's cuisine, and what we've been able to create under what were oftentimes oppressive conditions." Mbaye spent so much time studying New Orleans dining and refining his own Senegalese dishes, the fusion cuisine that emerged seemed almost inevitable. "Serigne is the son and nephew of two Senegalese women who made their mark on the New York food scene years ago," wrote food and television writer Lolis Eric Elie in an email.