This TED Talk features Chef Pierre Tiam, recorded live at TED Global 2017.

I was born and raised in Dakar, Senegal, and through a combination of accident and cosmic justice, became a chef in the U.S.

When I first arrived in New York,

I began working with restaurants,

different types of restaurants,

from French bistro to Italian,

global ethnic, to modern American.

At the time,

New York was already well-established

as a food capital of the world.

However, in the exception of a few West African and Ethiopian mom-and-pop eateries,

there was no such thing as African cuisine in the entire city.

Early in my life, I was influenced by Senegal's first president, Leopold Sedar Sengor,

nicknamed the poet president, who talked about a new humanism,

a universal civilization in which all cultures will come together around a communal table as equals,

each bringing its own beautiful contribution to share. will come together around a communal table as equals,

each bringing its own beautiful contribution to share.

He called it the rendezvous of giving and receiving.

That concept resonated with me,

and it has guided my career paths.

After years of working in restaurants, I yearn for my work to have a deeper impact

that would go beyond the last meal I had served. I wanted to give back both to New York,

...