Chef fills Charleston niche with African-inspired cuisine

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Bintou N’Daw is no stranger to the food industry. The French and Senegalese chef from St. Louis Senegal worked as a private chef in New York and Senegal before taking a job at Chez Nous in Charleston.

“I loved the atmosphere of the French restaurant,” she said, adding that it reminded her of her grandmother’s French heritage.

The chef, who also owns a line of hot pepper condiments inspired by African cuisine called Nafi’s condiments, recently opened Bintü Atelier African-Inspired Cuisine at 8D Line St. in Charleston. She said that she is filling a niche in the area. “I couldn’t find any African cuisine here,” she said.

N’Daw fell in love with Charleston after vacationing in the area every year.

“I loved it so much that I decided to move here,” she said, adding that it resembles her native island of which she has fond memories.

N’Daw currently serves customers in an outside setting with 12 seats. “We’ll soon have an indoor seating where we will be able to serve 26 at a big, community table,” she said.

As for food, she said that she is currently focusing on Senegal.

“I’m serving fish and using ingredients like rice, black-eyed peas and okra, right now,” she said, adding that she’ll begin to incorporate more dishes from West Africa in August. She’s also using her line of condiments in her food. “I’m moving production from New York to South Carolina to the Colleton Commercial Kitchen in Waterboro.”

One of the dishes that is currently receiving good customer feedback is supa kanja.

“It’s like a gumbo,” she said.

Those on special diets might be interested to learn that all of N’Daw’s food is gluten free.

“I use lots of couscous, cassava flour and sweet potato flour because we don’t have a lot of wheat in my region,” she said, adding that she also eschews canola oil. “We use coconut oil, peanut oil and palm oil, making our food healthier than some others,” she said.

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As for sourcing ingredients, N’Daw said that she finds many ingredients locally since the South uses similar products as her island in Saint Louis, Senegal. “It’s easy to get okra, peanuts, black-eyed peas, fish and other products locally, so all I have to source from beyond our area are some oils and spices,” she said.

N’Daw understands that many people may be unfamiliar with the cuisine, so her goal is to educate and familiarize them.

“I’m really happy to present Africa in a culinary way. The food is something that brings people together,” she said.

N’Daw said that she is happy to be doing what she loves in a city that she loves.

“It’s been a wonderful experience,” she said.

Stephanie Kalina-Metzger is a contributing writer for SC Biz News.