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Mafé, chicken yassa, thiéboudiène: we do not trifle with the holy trinity of African dishes. But, in BMK canteens, other, less usual flavors are also on the menu: attiéké, a lightly fermented Ivorian cassava semolina; vetkoek, a fried South African sandwich; or cassava and sweet potato cakes… Dishes that Fousseyni and Abdoulaye Djikine successfully offer in two stores in Paris. The first in the cosmopolitan surroundings of the Gare de l’Est opened in 2017, the second in the prosperous – some would say bobo – district of Folie-Méricourt, in 2020.
At the table of the two brothers, the mafé is available in a vegan version, as well as the yassa and the thiéboudiène. All three are served with French and seasonal vegetables: Brussels sprouts, turnips, parsnips in winter; celery, zucchini and cauliflower in summer… To those who would cry heresy, Fousseyni Djikine replies with a smile: ” We didn’t really try to adapt our menu, the bases of West African cuisine are mostly vegan and gluten-free. Our parents grew up in Mali. They always told us that, for them, everyday cooking was vegetarian. Meat was an expensive product, which was only added to festive dishes! »
Opening an African restaurant was the childhood dream of the two brothers, who had got into the habit of helping their mother in the kitchen at a very young age. A dream they decided to realize in 2016, when Fousseyni celebrated his 30th birthday and Abdoulaye obtained his master’s degree in management. ” My parents weren’t really thrilled, Fousseyni Djikine is having fun today. They saw African cuisine as something that only interested Africans. But we managed to convince them that we could attract new customers while remaining authentic. »
Fighting prejudice
Connoisseurs, moreover, are not mistaken. ” We have a lot of customers, let’s say half, who come from the African diasporas, rejoices the co-founder of the BMK canteens. And when they tell us that our dishes taste like their childhood memories, it’s both our greatest compliment and our best advertisement. »
The uninitiated are easily seduced by the sober and tasteful decoration: plain sienna walls, pretty wax cushions, well-packaged groceries lined up on the shelves. ” It’s exotic while remaining comforting, commented a customer seated in front of her vegan mafé. We’re not used to eating stew vegetables in peanut sauce! »
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