Going Global!

About Chef Pierre

© Adam Bartos.

Pierre Thiam is a chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author. He was raised in Dakar, Senegal, a cosmopolitan city on the west coast of Africa. This bustling and culturally diverse city sparked his interest in the culinary arts at an early age. After graduating from the Physics and Chemistry department of C. A. Diop University, Thiam moved to New York in the late eighties and started working in various restaurants in the city.

In 2000, Thiam opened his first restaurant, Yolele, a visionary African bistro that received great acclaim and reviews from the leading media. His second restaurant, Le Grand-Dakar Restaurant, opened in 2004 and quickly became a cultural hub for the African diaspora in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. Thiam also runs a successful catering company, Pierre Thiam Catering, which introduces a diverse, upscale New York clientele to a unique, contemporary take on ethnic flavors. Currently, Thiam serves as consulting chef at Soho’s Boom Restaurant in NY.

In addition to his work as a chef, Thiam gives lectures and cooking classes at venues such as the Museum for African Art, the Institute for Culinary Education (ICE), and the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). In 2006, he was a guest of North Carolina Central University as part of a State Department program, where he prepared a dinner for visitors from Guatemala and Mexico showcasing the influence of African food in South America.

His cookbook, Yolele! Recipes from the Heart of Senegal (Lake Isle Press, 2009), was nominated as one of three finalists for the Julia Child Cookbook Award 2009 at the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) in Denver. In February 2010, it won a Gourmand World Cookbook’s Special Jury Award at the Paris World Cookbook Fair.

Thiam has appeared on several TV and radio programs, including the Food Network’s Iron Chef, Gourmet Getaways, Sara’s Secrets, ABC’s Eyewitness News, Fox 5 Good Day NY, NBC’s TODAY, Martha Stewart Living Radio, and NPR’s Splendid Table. He was also profiled on CNN’s Inside Africa. Thiam lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife, Umaimah, and their three children.

About Japan Society’s Education and Family Programs

© George Hirose.

Through exciting online and on-site programing, Japan Society’s Education and Family Programs brings Japan to American schools and communities and brings together Japanese and American students. The Going Global initiative connects American and Japanese Middle and High School students using a safe social networking platform. Educators can access curricular materials on About Japan: A Teacher’s Resource, hone their teaching skills through the on-site teacher workshops, and participate in our Educator’s Study Tour. Families experience Japan through fun and educational weekend programs for children. Teens come in contact with Japan without leaving New York through our summer immersion program, which has focused on themes such as Japanese food, fashion, and anime creation. Students also experience Japan Society Gallery’s exhibitions through age-specific interactive gallery tours and innovative student programming.

Learn more about Japan Society’s Education and Family Programs.

sneak recipe of the evening’s dessert

© Adam Bartos.

Roasted Mango and Coconut Rice Pudding (Sombi)

½ cup honey
2 mangoes, peeled and sliced lengthwise
2 cups of coconut milk
¼ cup sugar, or to taste
1 vanilla bean cut in half lengthwise, seeds scraped out and discarded, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup shredded coconut, preferably fresh
1 cup cooked white rice, preferably long-grain
1 pinch salt
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1. In a sauté pan over medium heat, cook honey until bubbly. Add the mango slices and glaze until they are well coated and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

2. In a sauce pan, combine the coconut milk, sugar, vanilla, and all but 2 tablespoons of the shredded coconut. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the coconut milk is infused with the other flavors, about 10 minutes. Remove ½ cup coconut sauce to a bowl and set aside.

3. Add the rice to the coconut sauce in the pot and cook slowly, stirring frequently until all the liquid is absorbed. Add the salt and lime juice. Remove from heat and discard the vanilla bean (if using).

4. Divide the rice pudding among 4 to 6 individual dessert bowls, spooning the rice into the center of the bowl and surrounding with a pool of the reserved coconut sauce. Fan the mango slices over the rice and strew with the toasted coconut. Drizzle any remaining warm honey over the sombi for added sweetness. Serve warm.