Chef Adé Carrena Of Dounou Cuisine On Her Journey Of Reclamation

Today’s guest is Adé Carrena, chef and founder of Dounou Cuisine culinary project and the iLéWA Foods spice blend company. A native of Bénin, Adé was adopted at the age of 10 and grew up with a Puerto Rican family in Connecticut. Today, she calls Raleigh, North Carolina, home, and she’s been on a journey of reclamation ever since, raising her daughter, pivoting from banking to culinary, launching her businesses, and reconnecting with her birth mother. In 2023, she was named North Carolina Chef of the Year. 

Adé joins host Kerry Diamond to talk about her childhood, becoming a mother, and life in Raleigh. They also discuss her most recent project, a documentary titled “Bite of Bénin,” that details her story. 

Adé calls herself “a bridge, a dreamer, a healer, a chef, a storyteller, and a nurturer.” At the core, it’s all about heart, she says. 

Click here for tickets for our Summer Tastemaker Tour. 

Subscribe to Cherry Bombe’s print magazine. 

More on Adé: Dounou Cuisine, iLéWA Foods, "Bite of Bénin" 
More on Kerry: Instagram

Past episodes and transcripts