Heart of Africa
At Okàn in Bluffton, South Carolina, and Ekhaya in Durham, North Carolina, chefs Bernard Bennett and Zweli Williams craft ethereal dishes of their ancestral homes
by Ariel Blanchard & EMILY PRICE
Chef Bernard Bennett began his culinary career in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in a country club brigade kitchen. A James Beard 2023 Emerging Chef nominee, his trajectory was not atypical, starting at prep and working his way up over four years to running the club’s second kitchen.
At his Bluffton, SC, restaurant, Okàn, Chef Bernard Bennett highlights local ingredients—from field peas to pumpkins—in traditional dishes that trace the evolution of African American culinary heritage.
After culinary school and a stint in Chicago restaurants, in 2023, Bennett launched a Lowcountry food truck and subsequent brick- and-mortar restaurant, Okàn, that celebrates the African diaspora and the food of his ancestors.The name Okàn, meaning “heart” or “soul” in the West African language Yoruba, signals his intent.
“What [is it] about the French way of thinking that whatever kitchen you’re in, you have to do it the French way?” Bennett asks. “It started me on a path of wondering why—why is there no one that looks like me creating these things?”
“Why is ethnic food thought of that way? I’ve got to figure out what I want and how I can bring this to light.”
Bennett once wanted to add tacos to the appetizer menu at a restaurant, but the response from higher management was “tacos are just too cheap.” He observed during his experience in Italian restaurant kitchens that customers were paying top dollar for dishes made with less expensive ingredients; however, typical take-out foods, often ethnic cuisines, are expected to cost much less, regardless of the actual ingredients or labor required to make them. “Why is ethnic food thought of that way?” Bennett asked. “I’ve got to figure out what I want and how I can bring this to light.”
The last step of his three-part journey to discovering his culinary ancestry and launching Okàn was an Edna Lewis commemorative dinner in Chicago. Lewis, one of the first African American women to publish a cookbook without concealing her race, name, or gender, was an accomplished chef and pioneer in teaching the general public about African American history and Southern cuisine.
Bennett recalled his fellow chef participants in the dinner serving dishes like gumbo with a roux and veal and beef meatloaf that were still based in French technique and not truly representative of Lewis or the cuisine she championed. He, however, served a rabbit sausage that his ancestors would prepare, and he explained the background and execution to diners.
And that is almost exactly Bennett’s approach at Okàn. With a glossary accompanying each menu, the educational part of the dining experience at this Bluffton, South Carolina, restaurant is as important as the actual dining.
“If you want to learn, we’re here to teach you, and if not, the food’s great,” Bennett says. Familiar ingredients, used in their traditional way, compose the menu that is representative of African influence across the globe and especially the South.
Rice, for instance, plays a major role at Okàn, yet without the tragedy of African enslavement, would the crop have made its way to the southern United States? Bennett continues to pose such questions while delivering some “safe” options—like a half-chicken yassa, or braised chicken—for the guests who are hesitant.
Through his research of West Africa, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, and beyond, Bennett showcases a history of resilience and ingenuity through food and its culinary significance: “What has Africa not touched?”
Find Okàn at 71 Calhoun St, Ste 100, Bluffton, SC, at okanbluffton.com, or on instagram at @okanbluffton.
Chef Zweli Williams and her husband, Leonardo Williams, opened the first Zimbabwean restaurant in the country, Zweli’s Kitchen, in their hometown of Durham, North Carolina. Now just six years later, Chef Zweli has another restaurant—Ekhaya.
Chef Zweli Williams in her restaurant, Ekhaya.
Zweli’s Kitchen focuses on traditional Zimbabwean cooking, similar to what Chef Zweli enjoyed as a child growing up in Africa, and Ekhaya, which opened last year, presents dishes from throughout Africa. “We call it a Bantu Fusion restaurant, meaning that we’re taking cuisines from different African countries,” Chef Zweli tells us. “You can find that in just one single dish. I can mix up some flavors from Zimbabwe and from Nigeria into one dish.”
Zweli says the restaurant is an elevated concept, where dishes on the menu are a fusion of different ingredients from different parts of Africa. Diners get the opportunity to try a wide variety of those flavors during their meal. “It’s a tapas restaurant, whereby you get about six dishes to try in one sitting,” she says. “You’re exploring different flavors in different menu items at one time.
Some of the restaurant’s dishes are also reminiscent of typical Southern cuisine. For instance, one dish is collard greens, a staple in the South; however, they’re smothered in a rich peanut sauce. Chef Zweli says that to her, South African cuisine is basically farm-to-table—“My ancestors used to farm everything they ate,” she says. “They used to have cows. They used to have chickens. That’s all they had, so that’s what they made their dishes out of.”
“I felt like showcasing something that’s more authentic and soulful would really, truly, be showcasing who I am.”
Since she came to America, the chef says that she has mostly lived in Durham. She attended North Carolina Central University, down the street from her restaurants, where she also met her husband, who currently serves as the mayor of the city. “We instantly made Durham our home,” she says. “We feel like this is where we’re able to contribute to our community, and what better way to do that than by showing authentic cuisine that a lot of people otherwise might not have a chance in their lifetime to experience?”
That doesn’t mean she wasn’t still a little nervous about introducing a new type of cuisine to the area. “I was very nervous about opening,” Zweli says. However, she admits she would have been more nervous about opening a burger joint than a Zimbabwean restaurant. “I felt like showcasing something that’s more authentic and soulful would really, truly, be showcasing who I am.”
The reaction she’s received from the community has been overwhelmingly positive. “I think people don’t know what to expect, but they expect it to be good through word of mouth,” she says. “Most often people don’t quite expect the flavors to be what they are. It’s a very good surprise to them, and they love it.”
visit Ekhaya at 406 Blackwell St, Ste 100, Durham, NC, zwelisekhaya.com, and on instagram at @zwelisekhaya.
Photography by Paul Mehaffey
Bintü Atelier — Charleston, SC
Chef and co-owner Bintou N’Daw was raised in Normandy, France, but her Senegalese birthplace is the inspiration for what might be Charleston’s smallest full-service restaurant, Bintü Atelier. N’Daw’s culinary chops were recognized in the Holy City when she worked in the kitchen of beloved French restaurant Chez Nous. After opening her own restaurant with her husband, Tracey, in 2023, she has captivated diners with the flavor of her West African dishes. Just try to get a table without planning ahead. Dieun, a whole fried snapper with jollof rice; and shito spicy crab rice, a fried soft-shell crab over spicy rice, feel closer to what’s generally understood to be Southern cuisine, while dishes like goat egusi, with a ground melon seed stew of pumpkin, spinach, and red pepper sauce served with fufu, are a reminder of just how far these ingredients traveled. “I’m trying to get people to try new things but connect them with something that’s familiar,” N’Daw says.
Find Bintü Atelier at 8D Line St, Charleston, SC, bintuatelier.com, and @bintu.chs on instagram.
