Simply West African

The most accessible introduction to West African cooking available today, written by the chef who has done more than anyone to bring the cuisine to a global audience. Pierre Thiam is a Senegalese-born, James Beard Award-winning chef and cookbook author whose fourth book distills decades of professional cooking and cultural advocacy into 80 recipes designed for the everyday home kitchen.

Why Start Here

Most West African cookbooks either assume you already know your way around a West African pantry or focus narrowly on a single country’s cuisine. Thiam takes a different approach. He covers the entire region, from Senegalese thieboudienne to Nigerian jollof rice to Ghanaian kelewele, while keeping every recipe genuinely approachable. The ingredient lists are realistic, the instructions are clear, and the results deliver the bold, layered flavors that define West African food.

What sets this book apart is Thiam’s ability to teach technique alongside recipes. You will learn how to build a proper tomato base, how to balance heat from scotch bonnet peppers, and how to use ingredients like fonio (an ancient West African grain) and dawadawa (fermented locust beans) to add depth and complexity. Each recipe includes helpful tips that explain the “why” behind the cooking, not just the “how.”

The book also reflects Thiam’s philosophy that West African food belongs on every table. He shows how seamlessly these dishes can become weeknight staples or the centerpiece of a weekend gathering. Whether you are making a simple groundnut stew or a celebratory jollof rice, the recipes feel achievable from the first attempt.

What to Expect

A beautifully photographed 240-page hardcover organized around the building blocks of West African cooking. The early chapters cover essential sauces, spice blends, and pantry staples, giving you a foundation before you move into main dishes, sides, and desserts. You will need to source some specialty ingredients like scotch bonnet peppers, palm oil, and dried crayfish, but Thiam provides guidance on where to find them and suggests substitutions where possible. The difficulty level is genuinely beginner-friendly, with most recipes requiring only basic cooking skills.