Podcast Summary:

TED Talks Daily – “What I learned from cooking my way across a continent” | Dieuveil Malonga
Release Date: January 23, 2026
Host: Lily James Olds (TED Fellows program director, interview segment)
Guest: Dieuveil Malonga, chef & culinary innovator

Episode Overview

This inspiring episode centers on chef Dieuveil Malonga’s transformative journey across Africa, where he cooked and learned in kitchens across nearly 50 countries. Malonga shares how his explorations led to the founding of Culinary Innovation Village in Rwanda—a training center aiming to both honor African culinary heritage and foster the continent’s next generation of innovative chefs. The episode also includes a rich conversation between Malonga and TED Fellows director Lily James Olds, diving into the roots of his culinary philosophy, the significance of intergenerational knowledge (“the grandmother school”), and his vision for the global emergence of African cuisine.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Pan-African Food Journey

• Food as Connection
  • “The good thing with food, like food, bring people together, food on their border.” – Dieuveil Malonga [04:11]
  • Malonga describes food as a universal language, offering a bridge between cultures and generations.
• Returning to Roots
  • After training in prestigious restaurants worldwide (France, Germany, Japan, Thailand, the US), Malonga felt called to rediscover and learn from African culinary traditions firsthand.
  • He returned to Africa for two years, traveling to over 48 countries to learn “at the grandmother school.”
  • “I wanted to go back to school, to the grandmother school... I took two years just traveling in Africa. I've learned about food, about culture and I saw about the continent history.” [04:47]
• Diversity and Complexity of African Cuisine
  • Malonga corrects common misconceptions: Africa is a vast continent of 54 countries, each with unique food traditions.
  • He emphasizes that there are “more than a million and billion recipe in the continent” [05:31].
• Notable Dishes & Ingredients
  • Cameroon’s ndolé: “If someone cook ndolé for you, it look like the person love you because ndolé take a lot of time.” [05:07]
  • Senegalese yasa; Miranda green banana (kisafriyam); Congo’s fumbua (wild-harvested leaves).
  • Penja pepper from Cameroon: “Spices is life... Penja pepper is one of the best pepper foaming in the world... close to lemongrass. You must taste it really to understand.” [06:12]

Food as Experience, Story, and Cultural Heritage

• Connecting with Ingredients and Their Stories
  • Malonga contrasts European fine-dining kitchens (disconnected from food sources) with African village experiences: “When I was in Germany... you can have carrot, but it’s come from the market. Like you don't know the story behind.” [07:25]
  • “My first time that I tasted the carrot when I was in Cameroon, I was different. Number one, like was sweet and flavorful... I was connected with the product of the people and of the region.” [07:40]
• Celebration of Food in African Culture
  • “In different countries in Africa, people celebrate food. People don't eat, but we celebrate food. It's part of our life.” [06:50]
  • Sharing meals is integral to daily life, often embedded in communal storytelling and mutual support.

Founding Culinary Innovation Village

• Vision and Practice
  • Malonga’s Culinary Innovation Village blends farming, training, and restaurant practice.
  • “We have a training center. We train next generation after, let's say the big chef of tomorrow. The students come from different countries in Africa. From now we have seven nationality and they bring another new dish, they bring Saddam another new way of farming—it's a huge exchange between me and the student.” [08:37]
• From Farm to Table, and Beyond
  • Emphasizes sustainability: Over 100 varieties of fruit and vegetable are cultivated on site.
  • “We teach our students how to farm... I focus more on the story of people and the product. For me, food is sharing and education.” [08:57]
• Global Future for African Cuisine
  • Ambition: “We want really in the future that people can talk about African food like they talk about Italian food... Nigerian food... Congolese, Rwandese, and South African food...” [09:23]

In-Depth Interview Highlights

(with Lily James Olds; begins at [11:26])

• Roots and Early Memories
  • Malonga was born in Linzolo village, Congo-Brazzaville.
    • “I grew up in... foodie family and farming. My grandmother owned a restaurant... she was doing only one dish focusing on cassava leaves and cassava root.” [11:48]
  • The family dish: “In my language they call it Sakasaka... in Rwanda, they call it Isombe.” [12:15]
• Migration & Cultural Shocks
  • Moved to Germany at age 11–12.
    • “German food scene was shocking for me... I grew up like with a tasty and some pan African product and came to Germany was like potatoes and all of this meat culture was something shock for me.” [13:25]
• Forging Culinary Identity
  • Started “messing around in the kitchen” at age 14–15. Cooking became a way to preserve identity and adapt.
  • Studied in international school, worked in top international restaurants, but felt compelled to explore the vastness of African cuisines firsthand [14:58].
• Learning Techniques Across Africa
  • Deep focus on:
    • Farming methods (“from the farm to the table”)
    • Fermentation and conservation (“In many village in Africa, they don’t have electricity, so they conserve product and also they fermentate product... and product is give amazing taste.” [16:32])
• Food as Celebration and Community Ritual
  • Meal times as moments of gathering, not mere sustenance: “It’s the time you have story. It’s a time like listen the challenge for some people. And share what? Share food, share drink. And that me was like a celebration.” [17:32]
• Advice for Newcomers & Aspiring Home Chefs
  • On choosing dishes: “Personally, I don't have a favorite food, I don't have a favorite ingredients, I don't have a favorite spices. So depend how do you feel... every day I discover something new.” [18:29]
  • Starter recommendation: “Eat to do ndolé. Ndolé is one of the national dish from Cameroon. It's amazing. It's very rich and is made by leaves like bitter spinach and can mix it with shrimps, sometimes with beef.” [19:19]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Learning from Elders:
  • “For me, the best school is the grandmother school. I think that was one of the best school I've been in my life. You learn many technique, you learn how the food test and also learn story beyond the food.” – Dieuveil Malonga [19:47]
  • “Because for personally it’s very important to understand more about the product and environment. And this you learn it by grandmother.” [20:31]
• On Founding the Culinary Innovation Village in Rural Rwanda:
  • “All my friends, all my family say, are you mad? Why going to Rwanda? Kigali is a small country. I say, I know what I want.” [21:22]
  • “I wanted to create a space that people can come and learn... the ambition is like promote the product that you find in Africa, to create a Pan African space focusing on sharing and education.” [21:59]
• On Sustainability and the Future of Food:
  • “The food of tomorrow is not African. It's not American, it's not French. The food of tomorrow is the food that people use product that have in the corner.” [23:25]
• On Gender Balance in Chef Training:
  • “We learn from women, we learn from female. That is our first skill set to get to get it to the grandmother.” [24:36]
• On the Oral Recipe Tradition:
  • “I realized, like, in many countries in Africa, many people don't have... a cookbook, like, family recipe that really people share it. Like, from mama to the daughter and from daughter to the kids, like, go by grandmother is like a tree.” [26:09]

Key Segment Timestamps

• [04:11] Malonga’s journey: leaving fine dining abroad, returning to Africa, learning through travel and elders.
• [07:25] On connecting to ingredients and understanding food in context.
• [08:37] Introducing the Culinary Innovation Village and its mission.
• [11:26] Interview begins: Malonga’s background and formative experiences.
• [14:58] Decision to leave top restaurants and travel Africa.
• [16:05] Traditional techniques (fermentation, conservation, farming).
• [17:32] Food as communal celebration in African daily life.
• [19:19] African dishes for newcomers: ndolé and others.
• [19:47] Importance of the “grandmother school” and intergenerational teaching.
• [21:22] Opening Culinary Innovation Village in rural Rwanda—motivations and vision.
• [23:25] Food, sustainability, and Chef’s Exchange initiative.
• [24:36] On gender in the kitchen and learning from women chefs.

Conclusion

Dieuveil Malonga’s TED Talk and interview illuminate how food can transcend borders, educate, and empower—while anchoring people in tradition and community. His journey from Europe’s Michelin kitchens back to the “grandmother school” kitchens of Africa has redefined what innovation means in the culinary world. Malonga invites listeners to explore African food with open hearts—not just for recipes, but for the stories, techniques, and spirit behind them. His words underscore both a reverence for the past and an incitement to creativity and global understanding in the kitchens of tomorrow.

Recommended Starting Points:

• For a taste of Africa at home: Try Cameroonian ndolé or seek out traditional dishes from across the five African regions ([19:19]).
• For those interested in the legacy and stories: Stay tuned for Malonga’s cookbook, which aims to capture recipes passed down through generations ([27:10]).

Memorable Quote:

“Cooking don’t have border. And that's why I recommend people to be open and to move all of this cliche that people have for Pan African cuisines.” – Dieuveil Malonga [26:25]

For more:
Visit fellows.ted.com for TED Fellows films and stories.