Two Africans. Many places. One love for good food.
AfroGourmets started with something very simple:
We love good food. And we love sharing it.
We are Awa and Ibrahima, two Senegalese who have lived, travelled, cooked and eaten our way through different places and cultures.
Senegal is where our story began. Morocco was home for more than twenty years. France, Italy and Greece found their way into our kitchen along the way. And today, Thunder Bay is where AfroGourmets calls home.
All of those places have shaped the way we cook.
Cuisines of the world. The AfroGourmets way.
For Awa, cooking is personal.
I sometimes describe myself as a little bit of a Julia Child, the African way.
Not because I want to be a chef.
I simply love to cook.
Cooking relaxes me. It makes me happy. It's where I create, experiment and sometimes forget about everything else for a while.
My cooking is the food I love serving at home: family-style, generous and refined.
I love fresh ingredients. I love flavour. And I care almost as much about how a plate looks as how it tastes.
Because yes, we eat with our eyes first.
Awa brings more than 17 years of luxury hospitality experience to AfroGourmets, but the kitchen has always been personal.
“But what I love most about food isn't actually the food.
It's what happens around it.”
Awa
The table has always mattered to us.
Some of our best conversations happen around a table.
Families reconnect there.
Friendships begin there.
We celebrate there.
We laugh there.
Sometimes we disagree there.
And sometimes dinner is finished but nobody gets up because the conversation is just too good.
We believe some of the most beautiful relationships are built — and kept alive — around a table.
That's the heart of AfroGourmets.
From Senegal to Morocco to Thunder Bay.
Our food doesn't belong to one country or one cuisine.
And we like it that way.
Senegal and Morocco are deeply part of who we are. But our kitchen has also been influenced by France, Italy, Greece, Canada and every place that has made us curious enough to taste something new.
Sometimes we follow tradition.
Sometimes we play with it.
Sometimes we make something that belongs entirely to us.
That's the AfroGourmets touch.
A new table in Thunder Bay.
Today, AfroGourmets has a home inside Goods & Co Market in Thunder Bay.
It's our boutique.
Our cooking studio.
Our little laboratory for trying new things.
And most importantly, it's a place where people can gather.
We make our products here in small batches, host cooking experiences, welcome people around our table and create food for celebrations across the community.
Thunder Bay isn't simply where AfroGourmets is located.
It's part of our story now.
Inspired by the world. Rooted in Ontario.
AfroGourmets is proud to be Feast On® certified, reflecting our commitment to Ontario-grown food and the producers behind it.
Whenever possible, we source ingredients from Ontario while bringing them into recipes inspired by the many places that have shaped our cooking.
Made in Thunder Bay. Inspired by the world. Rooted in Ontario.
Good food. Beautiful tables. People together.
Today, AfroGourmets can look like many things.
A jar of Ami Yassa in your fridge.
Six people laughing during a cooking class.
A corporate lunch that doesn't feel corporate.
A beautifully set table for a birthday.
A Wines & Spices dinner that lasts longer than expected.
Or simply someone walking into our studio asking:
“What are you cooking today?”
Different experiences.
Same idea.
Good food. Beautiful tables. People together.
Come to our table.
Cook with us. Let us cook for you. Take a little AfroGourmets home.
There's always room for one more.