Marianne Mbaye’s blog is vibrant and elegant, complemented by her desire for simplicity and cooking with the seasons. Her journey into the food world very rapidly escalated from  a fondness for helping her mother in the kitchen to helping her local community whenever she traveled outside of her home where she was blessed with a home cook and the virtues of good food as a child. From Senegal to the US and Paris, Marianne is emblematic of a cook that has adapted her culinary taste to her vibrant and ever-changing environment. We’re lucky to have be part of our community and to have her teach one of her recipes this month on Kitchen Connection! 

– Who was the first one to expose you to cooking/good eating? Who has the most influence on how/what you cook?  

– The first one to expose me to cooking was myself, as I was trying to help  my mom who I would surprise when she came home from work with some fish cooked in the oven and decorated with lemon slices. This was in Paris, where she would not let me in her tiny kitchen. Back home, a cook was in charge of the cooking during the week. I remember helping my neighbour once: she was pregnant and not feeling well. I successfully cooked vegetables with rice and fish for her. The very first cookbook I held in my hands was from Les Soeurs SCOTTO. But my mum gave me many recipe pages before that.