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To celebrate Women’s History Month, the James Beard Award-winning Sweet Home Café, located at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, D.C., will honor the culinary contributions of seven respected women chefs. Every Friday, this month, starting March 7, from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., and continuing into the weekends, the café will host special menu takeovers by talented women chefs from across the country. These chefs will create dishes that reflect their cultural heritage, sharing stories of their traditions through the food they prepare, according to a press release from the NMAAHC website.
Chef Aida Bah will kick off the Women’s History Month celebration on March 7 with a menu inspired by her Ivory Coast upbringing.
On Friday, the celebration will begin with Chef Aida Bah, a lead cook at the World Bank Group, who will curate a menu inspired by her roots in the Ivory Coast. A native of Abidjan, Aida grew up learning to cook from her aunt, “an avid cook” with a knack for creating delicious dishes, a press release noted. Aida moved to the United States in 2021 and currently works as a lead cook for the World Bank Group. She previously worked as an assembler and cook for Salad Chop.
For her takeover, Aida will share some of her signature dishes, including Suya chicken thighs, Ivorian-style oxtails, and sides such as stewed black-eyed peas, sautéed mixed vegetables with herbs, Aida’s Jollof rice, and alloco (fried ripe plantains). The menu will also feature a spicy pickled vegetable salad with cilantro avocado dressing and a dessert of degue, a homemade sweet yogurt and millet couscous. To accompany the meal, she will offer tamarind juice.
Chef Toshiba Veney will give people a taste of her southern roots during the closing event.
The celebration will close on March 29 with Chef Toshiba Veney, a sous-chef at Mitsitam Native Food Café in Washington, D.C., who will present a Southern-inspired menu that reflects her upbringing in Arlington, Virginia. Growing up, Toshiba was deeply influenced by the strong women in her family, whose cooking left a lasting impression on her.
“They always told me to cook with my heart and to love every moment of it,” the culinary veteran said.
Veney’s menu will bring together mouthwatering flavors from various cultures, featuring dishes such as BBQ pork and mac & cheese egg rolls, creamy Cajun crab and shrimp egg rolls, and jerk trumpet mushroom egg rolls. The entrées will be topped with pickled jalapenos, coleslaw, spicy remoulade, fried kale, and pickled onions. Her sides will include collard greens with smoked turkey necks, mac & cheese, and dirty rice, while dessert will consist of red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. Each dish will be served with two sides, providing a delicious and well-rounded dining experience.
As part of the Women’s History Month celebration at NMAAHC, Chef Ramin Coles, Executive Chef at Sweet Home Café, will pay tribute to chef and TV journalist Carla Hall, author Joanne Hyppolite, and historian Jessica B. Harris for their remarkable contributions to the culinary arts and history.
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