Four-time James Beard nominee and TIME 100Next honoree Serigne Mbaye, is the Chef and owner of Dakar NOLA, a New Orleans pescatarian restaurant that focuses on modern Senegalese cuisine. The Dakar NOLA tasting menu proudly highlights seafood from local waters and produce from farmers in south Louisiana.

Born in Harlem, raised in Dakar, Senegal, Serigne’s most cherished memories of his childhood is where he learned to cook at his mother’s knee. Returning to the United States, he attended the New England Culinary Institute of Vermont, where he graduated at the top of his class in 2016. After graduating, Serigne was invited to stage at Commander’s Palace, leading to a two-year stint and promotion to sous chef at Cafe Adelaide in New Orleans. From there, he honed his skills at Atelier Crenn in San Francisco and L’Atelier Joel Robuchon in New York. Returning to New Orleans in 2020, Serigne launched a Dakar NOLA pop-up during the pandemic when much of the restaurant industry shut down.

In 2022, his vision led Serigne to open his first brick-and-mortar restaurant, Dakar NOLA, which in a short time has garnered impressive notice, including being named No. 6 in North America’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025 and The Best Restaurant in South USA. Most recently, Dakar NOLA was named as one of Eater’s All-Time 38 Most Essential and Most Influential Restaurants in America in the past 20 years, and recognized as one of the best new restaurants of 2024 by USA Today and by Bon Appetit, and by Eater and Esquire in 2023. It is one of the hottest new restaurants in New Orleans and has been featured in notable publications including the Michelin Guide, the New York Times, Garden & Gun, Saveur, Bitter Southerner, Thrillist, the Local Palate and more. Dakar NOLA has also been awarded Best New Restaurant of 2024 by the James Beard Foundation.