Meet the Anthony Bourdain of Black Cuisine
“I Am African & I Can” is a women’s empowerment blog highlighting stories of Black women’s struggles and successes.
By Hadiatou Wann | 05/08/20
Some find excuses to run away from the kitchen. Fatoumata Binta Diallo finds every reason to run toward the kitchen.
Born in Guinea, Conakry, Binta moved to New York in 1997 when she was 7 years old. “I’ve lived in every place in Brooklyn you can think of,” she teased.
After 2 years in America, her mother started a home-based restaurant. Binta recalls, at times, going to different car washes, where African men worked to take their orders.
Most girls her age would spend their days at the park with friends. Her days were spent indoors helping her mother cook and look after her siblings.
Since Binta was undocumented at the time, she took a break once she graduated from high school. since she couldn’t receive aid to cover her tuition, she preferred putting her plans of going to college on hold.
She took 2 years off from high school and worked at the supermarket, and babysat. For 10 hours a day, 7 days a week, she worked at the supermarket.
Even as a teenager, the grind never stopped for Binta. She saved up enough and was able to go to college and graduate with a double major (Early Childhood Education and Psychology) with no debt!
Just before graduating college, she secured a job as a teacher. While working as teacher, one day one of Binta’s friends said “I would pay for this,” after having a taste of cooking. It was no-brainer she had to monetize her passion.
She enjoyed having people over and catered to them in a small intimate setting. But what seemed to generate more sales was catering to festivals. As the bills pilled up, so did the food orders. After 5 years of teaching, Binta quit her 9 to 5 to become a full-time chef.
Last year, she provided catering services for AfroPunk and was placed in the Green VIP section. When Binta later asked recruiters why they approved them, they made it known that the dishes she showed off on social media appealed to them.
When Binta was younger, she avoided eating African food in front of Americans because she assumed they would judge its smell. But when she noticed the smile on her husband’s face after having a taste of her homemade African dishes, it reassured her. “I am no longer scared to make African food,”Binta said. She was even more reassured when attendees at the Afro Punk festival salivated over the food she made.
Binta’s specialty includes cooking African, Caribbean, and Southern dishes.
Early November 2019, someone from the Food Network reached out to Binta. The network wanted her to write a recipe for them and “I chose to make Mafe Tiga (bantou and fish), and Puff-Puff to highlight Guinea as a fish port,” the Guinean chef said. After being compensated for her segments on Food Network, writing and sharing her recipes has become Binta’s favorite thing to do.
KarynRose Bruyning says: “I’ve known Binta for about 10 years and have had the pleasure of working with her as well being present for the very first Friends-giving event that would serve as the kickoff for her company, With Bee.
“It’s been incredible to watch Fatoumata Binta build her business from the ground! Once she puts her mind to something, that’s it. Consider it done. It’s truly inspiring.”
Connecting and meeting different chefs, and learning people’s stories is what Binta enjoys most since becoming a full-time chef.
African cuisine, compared to Asian and European cuisine, is still unfamiliar to many. Binta says she wants to change that narrative. “I want to be the Anthony Bourdain for Black cuisine.”
Recently, Binta found out that she had two fathers. Things turned her life upside down. Her documentary is in the works. For the first time, in her documentary “Becoming Fatoumata,” she will share her story. Although she spent all of her life calling someone who wasn’t her biological father “dad,” she knew that deep down the man who raised her loved her.“I am proud to be the Muslim girl with two fathers,” Binta said.
Although Binta is no longer teaching in a classroom setting, she is a teacher online. This Guinean-native chef is now teaching others online how to make mouth-watering dishes. For Binta, the kitchen is a place where she can use her creativity to put together recipes that even taste buds find solace in. She grew up in the kitchen, but that’s not her only passion. Since she loves to play dress up, her next endeavor will be to launch an apparel business, using original prints that she designed. Her success story showed us that the career path we choose in adulthood is deeply rooted in the things we loved doing during childhood. It is never too late to readjust a career path and choose one that suits our liking.
Welcome to Binta’s World
“A strong woman has the ability to pursue and never give up.”
“Success is when you try your hardest to fulfill a personal goal you have. We don’t give ourselves enough credit for trying. Once you start, then you’ll know whether to continue or not. But you just need to start.”
“Food is happiness!”
“I am no longer scared to make African food.”
Watch Binta in action!
Connect with Binta:
Facebook: Binta Diallo-Hamilton
Instagram: @beesimpl3
Email: Bdiallo810@gmail.com
Read other success stories here: www.iamafricanandican.info/blog
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