NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Celebrity Chef Simeon Hall JR, a self-proclaimed "culinary griot", is set to be featured among a diasporic line-up of guest chefs as part of a monthly dinner series at the Louisiana-based Senegalese restaurant, Dakar NOLA. The restaurant, recently launched in November 2022, has already garnered buzz from top U.S. publications such as The New York Times.

The professional foodie will kick off the highly-anticipated series on Sunday, February 26th with an already sold-out inaugural meal.

The tasting menu dinner will feature five courses mingling the unique flavors of both Senegal and The Bahamas and guests can expect to sample Bahamian-inspired menu items like conch and plantain cake; okra, corn and pigeon peas fritters; johnnycake biscuits and benne seed rum cake, alongside delicious West African fare.

Chell Hall recounts that he scored the culinary gig when he struck up a friendship with the owner of Dakar NOLA and two-time James Beard award-nominated Chef Serigne Mbaye. The pair worked as sous chefs at the 2022 Charleston Food and Wine Festival.

Chef Serigne Mbaye, owner of Dakar NOLA and two-time James Beard award-nominated chef.

"He and I were the only ones on the bus shuttle at the time and so, for the entire ride, we talked food," Hall recalled. "When people are on similar paths, it doesn't take much for them to connect. Because he is so inundated with telling his story of his Senegalese food culture and I am doing the same in terms of Bahamian food culture, I guess we connected on the difficulties, the triumphs, and the movements of that experience.

"We also talked about the fact that he was going to take some time off before he went back to New Orleans to open his new restaurant to travel and get a sense of the Caribbean impact in terms of the relatability in food as it pertains to our African background," said Hall.

Upon learning of Mbaye's Caribbean travel plans, Hall recounted inviting him to come to The Bahamas as part of his culinary quest, which he accepted.

"When he was here, we cooked together; he made Joloff rice and gave me the story behind it. I got to work with him and taste his food and he got to work with me and taste my food... We spoke about his dream to have his restaurant feature chefs from the diaspora and him being a man of his word, he invited me to participate in the inaugural launch of this diaspora dinner series."

After his turn at Dakar NOLA, Hall along with three of his proteges are scheduled to return to he and Mbaye's meeting place, the Charleston Food and Wine Festival, to cook for the two events: 'Word of Cue' and 'Island Time'.

At this event, Hall and his all-Bahamian culinary team will treat festival-goers to Bahamian-inspired dishes like Conch Sausage Dogs, Muddasick Sauce, Pigeon Peas Slaw and Sunday Boneless BBQ Ribs.

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