Today we’d like to introduce you to Adégnimika Carrena.
Hi Adégnimika, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I was born in Porto-Novo, Benin, a small country on the west coast of Africa and was adopted at the age of 10. Growing up, all the women in my life were amazing cooks. In the earlier parts of my childhood, I watched my biological mother rise every morning to send 5 kids off to school and build a business for herself. She owned a little stand right in front of our home where she offered a fusion of Beninese and Togolese food. She was known for her Atassi (Rice and beans) so I can say that I probably inherited the entrepreneurial spirit from her. And I’ll never forget the first time I watched my Abuelita making piñón. I sat quietly in the kitchen as she built layers of what almost looked like lasagna but with mashed plantains and I remember thinking to myself that there was a connection here. You know, up until that moment, plantains were something my classmates and I bought, usually fried, on our walk home from school in Benin and now I was seeing a new use of it, here, in a Puerto Rican home. That childhood memory was the genesis of my passion for bridging cultural gaps. It made me realize that we are all more alike than we know.
Nine years later, I am working at Heirloom, a fine-dining farm to table restaurant in a small boutique hotel, The Study at Yale located in New Haven Ct. I spent 3 years with them and in that time, my perception of food quickly shifted. I saw that food was more than an edible and could encourage shared emotion in which we could have intentional experiences. From there came the inception of using food to share my story and the culture of my beautiful home, Benin. Only then, it was just a thought because you know life happens. I still had much to learn. I became a mother, spent a few years in banking but there came a moment. There’s always a moment. The moment you must choose who you truly are and walk in it. So, I took that leap, I left banking to start my own food business in which we curate authentic dining experiences where we serve neo-african cuisine, promote and provide education on our culture by partnering with Black-owned local farms to source ethically grown produce and raised livestock and by working with our community. 3 years in and we’re still going.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It most certainly has not been a smooth ride! As a new business owner, I’ve made many mistakes. From making poor decisions, spreading myself too thin, being overwhelmed, not asking for help, having burnouts. These are all the ugly parts of entrepreneurship that we don’t discuss enough. But mistakes are good, you learn and grow from them. Entrepreneurship is hard work especially in the last year. Our industry was highly affected by Covid. My business was personally affected by it, all of our events were canceled, we had no income coming in. It was really scary and stressful. As a business owner, what do you do? Do you quit? Or do you hang on to your vision? I remember constantly telling myself…”Adé, you’re either crazy or you really believe in yourself” haha. I literally told myself that the other day. It was a difficult time but like most businesses, we had to stop, regroup and find creative ways to keep going.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
In the last year, I have been working on my own food brand called Iléwa. We work with women entrepreneurs in Benin and across W. Africa to source our ingredients and to build a more equitable future. This project is so special to me because it’s allowed me to travel back home, to rebuild a relationship with my mother and to meet wonderful women in the local markets of Benin and I cannot wait to share their stories with the world. We are launching a spice line very soon so stay tuned for that.
What I would also want people to know is that Africa is not a monolith. Africa is a big place with many cultures and what I do is rooted in shining a bright light on West African food and culture and its connection to the rest of the world. If you attend one of my dinners, you’ll see that it is rooted in traditions but infused with my own experience as both an African American and an African immigrant having been raised by a Puerto Rican woman. Taking all of that, my story, and putting that on a plate for you to enjoy. In Benin, we say “Wa mi dounou”. This means “come share a meal with me”. I’ve always cherished this thought because there’s nothing more special than gathering with fellow beings, exchanging cultures and creating memories, all in the simple act of savoring a meal. I look forward to sharing a meal with you all.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Everything I do, I do from my heart. My work and the mission behind it mean the world to me and it keeps me going, especially in the moments when it’s hard. It is authentically and unapologetically me.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @Dounou_Cuisine, @IlewaFoods
Image Credits:
Kenia Thompson
