Alex Atala joins chefs from Nigeria, Cameroon, France and Colombia in Bahia for the 5th Festival do Dendê, a landmark Afro-Brazilian gastronomy event.
From March 4 to 11, the state of Bahia, in northeastern Brazil, became home to one of the country’s most powerful culinary gatherings. The Festival do Dendê — named after the palm oil central to Afro-Brazilian cooking — brought together around 20 national and international chefs across the regions of Camaçari and the Quilombo do Kaonge, a historic maroon community.
A Festival Built on Ancestry and Identity
Founded by chef Solange Borges as part of her Culinária de Terreiro project, the festival has grown into a cultural landmark that positions Black gastronomy at the center of Brazil’s culinary heritage. Now in its fifth edition, it draws chefs from Nigeria, Cameroon, France, Colombia, and Côte d’Ivoire to share techniques, stories, and flavors rooted in the African diaspora.
“The Festival do Dendê is a movement to honor our ancestry. When we bring together Cameroonian, French, American, Ivorian, Colombian and Brazilian cuisines, we are building bridges between territories connected by memory, diaspora and affection. Palm oil, cassava and the ingredients that cross generations carry these stories of resistance and identity. In this fifth edition, we want to reaffirm the power of Black gastronomy as a cultural, economic and political expression, celebrating the knowledge born in quilombos, communities, and the kitchens that sustain Brazil.” — Solange Borges, founder of Festival do Dendê
Star-Studded Lineup
Chef Alex Atala, of the acclaimed D.O.M. restaurant in São Paulo and the first Brazilian chef to hold two Michelin stars, headlined the closing dinner. Known for iconic dishes like “Palm heart fettuccine carbonara,” Atala brought his signature celebration of native Brazilian ingredients to the event.
From Cameroon, Axel Mbetcha — trained at the Institut Paul Bocuse and co-founder of Chefs in Africa — arrived to champion African culinary heritage across the diaspora. Nigerian chef Adenike Abisola Adefila (Denike), co-founder of the first pan-African fine dining restaurant in Nigeria, brought her commitment to indigenous African ingredients to the cooking show stages.
From Côte d’Ivoire, chef Olivia de Souza drew on the influence of attiéké — a traditional fermented cassava dish — to present a contemporary kitchen deeply rooted in local tradition. France was represented by Marie-Josée Ordener, co-founder of Les Grandes Tables restaurants, whose artistic-culinary performance Pilon gathered women from France, Colombia and Benin around the themes of memory and food.
Colombia’s Afro-Indigenous Voices
Colombia sent two remarkable chefs: Antonuela Ariza, a leading voice in contemporary Colombian cuisine in Bogotá, and Elsis Valencia, a custodian of the ancestral Afro-indigenous flavors of Colombia’s Pacific coast. Their presence deepened the festival’s dialogue between African diaspora cuisines across the Americas.
Brazil’s Own Culinary Force
The Brazilian roster was equally impressive. Highlights included Sandra Rocha Evanoff (Brasil Comes to You), Débora Cavalcanti (Racines do Brasil, Marseille), and duo Fabrício Lemos and Lisiane Arouca (Grupo Origem). Also featured were Leonela Borges (MasterChef Brazil alumna), Ídolo Giusti, Mariana Silva, Matuto Fire, TCris, Alex Gregory, and Maiara Luz and Rafa Sampoliver of Oxebah Gastronomia.
Seven Days of Immersive Experiences
Beyond the cooking shows, the festival offered ancestral experiences at the Quilombo do Kaonge, a trail run through the Agrovila Pinhão Manso, meetings with local producers, lectures, palm oil seedling planting with a barefoot-in-the-mud experience, and the official launch of the book Festival do Dendê. The opening ceremony at Camaçari’s Cidade do Saber was free to the public.
The festival is supported by the Municipality of Camaçari and the Bahia State Tourism Secretariat (SETUR). For more information, visit festivaldodende.com and follow @festivaldodende, @culinariadeterreiro and @mulheresolares on Instagram.
Event Info
5th Festival do Dendê
Dates: March 4–11, 2025
Participating chefs: Solange Borges; Alex Atala; Axel Mbetcha; Marie-Josée Ordener; Sandra Rocha Evanoff; Débora Cavalcanti; Adenike Abisola Adefila; Olivia de Souza; Antonuela Ariza; Elsis Valencia; Aline Guedes; Alex Gregory; Matuto Fire; Mariana Silva; Ídolo Giusti; TCris; Luís Barreto; Romário Rodrigues; Leonela Borges; Maiara Luz; Rafa Sampoliver.
Official Opening + Book Launch March 4 | 6:30–9:00 PM Cidade do Saber – R. do Telégrafo, s/n – Centro, Camaçari – BA, 42802-721 Free entry
1st Ancestral Experience + Cooking Show March 5 | 9:00 AM–4:00 PM Agrovila Pinhão Manso – Santo Antônio III, Camaçari – BA, 42800-000 Tickets: https://www.sympla.com.br/evento/v-festival-do-dende-vivencia-ancestral/3312356
Ancestral Experience, Bio-resistance + Cooking Show March 7 | 9:00 AM–4:00 PM Terreno Mulheres Solares, Agrovila Pinhão Manso – Camaçari (BA) Tickets: https://www.sympla.com.br/evento/v-festival-do-dende-vivencia-ancestral/3312356
Dendê Trail Run March 8 | 5:00–11:00 AM Agrovila Pinhão Manso – Santo Antônio III, Camaçari – BA, 42800-000 Registration: www.centraldasinscricoes.com.br
Traditional Knowledge – Quilombo Kaonge March 9 | 8:00 AM–4:00 PM Quilombo do Kaonge – Santiago do Iguape, Cachoeira – BA, 44300-000 Tickets: https://www.sympla.com.br/evento/v-festival-do-dende-vivencia-ancestral/3312356
Knowledge & Flavors Encounter + Cooking Show + Talks March 10 | 2:00–5:00 PM IFBA Campus Camaçari – Av. Jorge Amado, s/n – Jardim Limoeiro, Camaçari – BA, 42808-590 Free entry
Closing Dinner with Alex Atala + Experience March 11 | 7:00–10:00 PM Restaurante Culinária de Terreiro – Boulevard Shopping Camaçari BA-535, s/nº – Industrial, Camaçari – BA, 42810-200 Tickets: https://pay.kiwify.com.br/qO5h7h1
Photo: Press Release
