Meet the Entrepreneur who is Taking the African Cuisine to the Global Map- Dieuveil Malonga

Have you ever asked yourself who the owner of Chefs in Africa, a digital site that aims at cultivating the culinary passion and talent found in Africa is? The Democratic Republic of Congo-born Dieuveil Malonga is the founder of the startup. It links government institutions, businesses and training sectors with young culinary students and professional chefs. The platform has more than 4,000 chefs from Africa as members. The platform facilitates links between its members and local producers, and restaurant and hotel industry agents.

The founder promotes the site and the member’s talent in private events with gastronomic and recruiters tour firms. He also does that at the best global culinary summits. The summits include UNESCO’s Africa Week the 4th World Forum of Gastronomy Tourism of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Siemens’ Fusion Food project.  Malonga is among the ten chefs who ever made it to the final group of the Basque Culinary World Prize. He shared out about his platform and how it works on linking culinary talents in Africa to the highest profitable opportunities.

During a recent interview with Forbes, he said that his birthplace is in Brazzaville and brought up in Germany. He attended the at Adolf Kolping Schule in Münster in Germany a leading culinary school. He, later on, won some various competitions like Die Goldene Kartoffel in 2012. Malonga perfected on his skills in multiple restaurants in Michelin-starred. They include Aqua, Life, and Schote. He added that he developed the idea of starting Chefs in Africa during his tour across Africa. By then he had an of promoting Afro-fusion and study more about the continents gastronomic heritage. He got inspired by the passion of many youthful leaders he met posses and develop the story of Africa’s culinary culture.

According to Malonga, the platform is 100% self-funded. He added that their online members get thorough curation. The platform gives members a chance to connect, develop their brand improve on their education. It also gives them an opportunity to look for job opportunities in hospitality. He added that they were invited to give a keynote in June 2018 by United Nations World Tourism Organization at their 4th Forum on Gastronomy Tourism in Bangkok, Thailand. Such events open the eyes of many giving them a different view of the world. Therefore, it helps in tapping in economic opportunities for the young chefs in Africa. Malonga said that the platform has around 4,000 chefs. Its members are offered a chance to learn more on traditional and regional recipes and products. According to him, the platform’s goal is to support the members in developing their art and business legacy. To meet they hold seminars, workshops and offer resources so as they can share with both international and local key players in the industry. He said that the platform’s partners comprise of the government and renowned hospitality institutions like Sheraton hotel.

Malonga said that education is vital in making the continent’s cuisines important. He quoted a line from one of his students Shubhangi Saxena saying that stated, ‘With so much propaganda of poverty and hunger doing the rounds about Africa, and no one thinks anything of African food.’ Malonga together with Brand Strategist Sissi Johnson and Professor co-founded African gastronomy. This is a course in MBA which was founded as part of the Luxury Brand Management program. They founded it at International Fashion Academy (IFA) Paris in December 2017. The course is a unique one in Europe and globally. He said that the course curriculum solves the unknown and the uncomfortable about the continent. He added that branding the excellence of Africa is vital in spreading the word outside the classroom. He used SelfSells agency to achieve a milestone of global visibility that brings awareness to the gastronomy of African. According to him, his success lies in the hand of those who have inspired and supported him on his journey.

He talked about the platform being shortlisted as one of the finalists of the Basque Culinary World Prize 2018. He said that the win would give them a chance to fund the Chef in Africa challenge. The challenge will be the first and biggest African culinary challenge.