Chef Jamil Bah-Traore

A Family Affair

Cooking in Djamil's family started with his great-grandfather, who worked as a cook for German and French colons in Togo. At a young age and against established social norms, Djamil's grandmother and mother taught him how to cook. Djamil came to America to study accounting. After graduating college, he worked for corporate America for 13 years and gave everything up. He enrolled in the culinary program at Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, Nebraska, following his passion for food and hospitality instilled in him by his mother.

After years of working in restaurants and hotels, he witnessed how little Africa's Culinary Heritage is represented. That is why he founded House of Bah, a catering company, and Eat N talk Africa, a Non-for-profit organization to promote diversity and inclusiveness in the US hospitality marketplace and share the rare delicacies of modern African cuisines.