This chef in Rwanda wants to create a revolution in African cuisine

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Chef Dieuveil Malonga runs the show at Meza Malonga. Jacques Nkinzingabo for NPR hide caption

Chef Dieuveil Malonga runs the show at Meza Malonga.

KIGALI, Rwanda — Chef Dieuveil Malonga gives off something of a Willy Wonka vibe. His infectious smile feels impish, mischievous.

At his restaurant Meza Malonga in Kigali, Rwanda, there's no chocolate river, but there is an entire wall full of seeds, spices and fermented fruits in wide-mouthed glass jars. Malonga calls this his laboratory. It bursts with elements ripe for experimentation. Baobab from Tanzania. Black lemon from Egypt. "The base of the cuisine," Malonga calls it.

He reaches for one jar and pops off the lid. It's full of a spice called pebe. A spice which, when fermented, has the aroma of onions and garlic sizzling on a stove.

Each jar is like this. A sense memory. Vibrant and specific.

He takes a jar full of peppercorns off the shelf. They're from Cameroon, and he thinks these peppercorns are the best on the continent. "Just the parfume – it's not too aggressive," he says. "A little fruity, a little smoky." The restaurant incorporates these peppercorns into desserts, playing the smokiness off of pineapple, mangoes or passion fruit.

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Meza Malonga specializes in Afro fusion cuisine. Jacques Nkinzingabo for NPR hide caption

Meza Malonga specializes in Afro fusion cuisine.

Malonga was born in Congo-Brazzaville, where his grandmother, who raised him from the age of three, owned a restaurant. He says his love for food and cooking started there. He spent his teenage years in Germany and he started his career working in top European restaurants.

In 2015, he competed in the French Top Chef TV show — he says he was the first Black chef to do so. When it came time to open his own restaurant, he took a two-year tour of the African continent, seeking inspiration.

He opened Meza Malonga in 2020 at the height of pandemic dining restrictions. Restrictions that he says allowed the staff to innovate and refine the mission of the restaurant.

"We have a dual mission," he says. "Our first mission is to promote the amazing ingredients and cuisines within Africa." The other, he says, is transmission: "That's why we focus more on teaching and training."

Standing in his laboratory, it's full of what feels like collective work. There's nobody yelling, "Yes chef!" and Malonga pointedly refers to "our restaurant ... our menu ... our project." His longest employee is Frank Buhigiro, who says "the way we work is like we are like family. You know, we don't have pressure because we get time to think and create."