He additionally had an enormous dream: to carry the meals of their dwelling nation to Detroit. He competed in a neighborhood entrepreneurship program in 2017, and the couple received the $50,000 prize to assist them get their restaurant began. They lastly opened the doorways to their ethereal restaurant, Baobab Fare, in early 2021 — within the throes of the pandemic.
The accolades have rolled in. In February, the couple have been named for the second time as semifinalists for finest chef within the James Beard awards, and in March, Mr. Mamba received an episode of “Chopped,” a cooking competitors on the Meals Community, and with it, $10,000. Now they’re donating that prize cash to Freedom House Detroit, the nonprofit that helped Ms. Nijimbere, and different asylum seekers like her, escape persecution.
“Mamba is what you need the remainder of humanity to be like,” mentioned Elizabeth Orozco-Vasquez, the chief government of Freedom Home Detroit.
Rising up in Burundi in East Africa, Mr. Mamba, 42, discovered to cook dinner conventional regional flavors from his mom, who owned a restaurant. She taught him to cook dinner along with his senses, not simply by recipes, which gave him a bonus on “Chopped” when he was confronted with proteins unfamiliar to him, like ostrich and scallops. However, he mentioned the culinary abilities that landed him on the present don’t evaluate to his spouse’s expertise.
“The very best cook dinner just isn’t even me, it’s Nadia,” he mentioned.
Ms. Nijimbere, 41, just isn’t one for the limelight, although, and didn’t wish to go on nationwide tv. Mr. Mamba almost turned down the “Chopped” producers, however determined to compete himself as a result of he felt it was vital to share their meals and the story of how two refugees grew to become small-business house owners.
