Between Senegal and New York City: A Conversation with chef Pierre Thiam

As cosmopolitan gourmets are always looking for the next new trend, many culinary traditions around the world are just now drawing the attention they deserve. West African cuisines are finally acquiring visibility, thanks to their interesting ingredients, their complexity, and their long history.

Chef and restaurateur Pierre Thiam, author of the successful cookbook Senegal: Modern Senegalese Recipes from the Source to the Bowl, will discuss the unique food culture of his native Senegal – as well as the influence of African practices and dishes on the development of American foodways - with Fabio Parasecoli, director of Food Studies Initiatives at The New School. The conversation will also explore the diffusion of West African cuisines abroad and the problems they face, from product availability to business challenges and customers perception.

Following the discussion, the Symposium in the Drum: From Africa to the New World | Randy Weston Artist-in-Residency,​​​​​​​ will perform traditional Senegalese music upstairs in The New School's Tishman Auditorium at 8:00pm. Admission free.

Sponsored by the Jazz and Contemporary Music Program in the College of Performing Arts and the Food Studies Program at the Schools of Public Engagement.