Serving Ivorian cuisine in London: A conversation with Chef/Owner Paule Béké, Douceurs D'Ivoire
- James Massoud
- Jun 24
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 25
Paule Béké is the force behind Douceurs D’Ivoire, a chef whose dishes draw deep from Ivorian roots while embracing global influences. From Abidjan to Paris to London, she blends West African tradition with classical French technique to create a modern Afrofusion movement that spans continents. In this exclusive interview, Béké opens up about her culinary journey, the power of food as cultural storytelling, and why sustainability, legacy and identity shape everything she cooks.
You grew up immersed in the aromas and traditions of Ivorian cuisine – how did those early memories shape your identity as a chef today?
Those early memories shaped what I am today in the sense that I can identify a taste profile through all the spices, smell, food and ancient grains that were very normal to me, as they were used in everyday life.
From the Ivory Coast to France, and now London – how have those geographical shifts influenced the flavours and stories on your plate?
I use my background and travels to explore new recipes or simply execute the original ones with the ingredients I can find around me. My cuisine is the essence of the cultural blends, according to my mood, the environment I am in and the stories that unfold naturally with the experience I have gained through the years on my travels.
What was your original vision for Douceurs d’Ivoire, and how has that evolved over the last decade?
My vision was to have a catering company that stood for a cuisine that was not well understood. But now it is far more than just the actual catering. It is all about how I transmit my food, through the restaurant I opened last year in Paris, getting a ceramics brand, expanding the Afrofusion dinner concept and being able to advise restaurants as a consultant to help them in their own growth process. I also have projects back in Ivory Coast to create a sustainable ecosystem from farm to fork and beyond. So, it's been a journey I could not have imagined!
Your Afrofusion Dinners span continents, from Toronto to Accra. What do you hope guests take away from the experience – beyond the food itself?
I want my guests to get the essence of who I am and to help them discover the sense of sharing in a fast-paced world where everything seemingly needs to be consumed fast. When they come into the Afrofusion Dinners, time needs to stop so they can share their experience with their loved ones, or even complete strangers they meet there. I want people to mingle and recover the real social links that we tend to lose. I also want to shape the future of food by making possible for the next generation to get a chance to experience all the tastes and flavours we are tasting. It is a matter of putting together my Ivorian culture and cuisine and blending it with sustainability and a growing a legacy through economic wealth.
You’ve described your cooking as a blend of tradition and modernity. Can you give an example of a dish that captures that philosophy?
One of the dishes I really like is a signature dessert that I created with an Italian pastry chef friend. The name is déguai and it’s a yoghurt and millet pudding that you can eat for breakfast, dessert or a snack. It’s very popular and simple, yet highly nutritious and tasty! I told her everything about the roots of the millet ancient grain as a main ingredient and wanted to be able to change the consistency.
You trained in Paris but cook with Sub-Saharan soul. How do you approach the balance between classical technique and African heritage?
I am born Ivorian so this is something I have within me. I am also French on my mother’s side, so French cuisine has always been there in our kitchen. For me, the balance comes very naturally. I simply go with my knowledge and the experiences gained in the kitchens I have worked in – with the grandmas and my mum, but also with renowned chefs.
How did your experience on MasterChef: The Professionals challenge you creatively – and what did it teach you about your own resilience?
The experience on Masterchef: The Professionals was a great way to test my resilience! You are given a very small amount of time to present great dishes from scratch, so the creativity needs to be on point if, for instance, something goes wrong during the process. I am a resilient person by nature so it was not too different from my everyday life in the kitchen.
What was it like cooking under the gaze of the MasterChef judges, compared to the intensity of a real-life kitchen?
It was great, yet very challenging as you want these renowned chefs to validate your work or at least understand and appreciate the flavours you are bringing to the table. It was very stressful, as I wanted to give my best, yet I was proud to showcase my cuisine.
You’ve helped open restaurants around the world. How do you adapt Ivorian or West African elements to different culinary scenes – like London’s or Paris’s?
Working as a consultant demands you to adapt to the client's needs and execute what they want, while advising them on the best approach to make their business thrive. However, when designing menus, I always add a touch of Ivorian cuisine, whether it is the spices, the dish itself or the cooking technique.
Sustainability is a passion of yours – how do you weave that value into your day-to-day practice as a chef and business owner?
It is! Even though it is very challenging to stay sustainable when you’re on a limited budget, I try to leave a clean footprint as much as I can and also practice zero-waste in my recipes. I try to reuse most of the product or give it a new life. That's the wonder of food. For example, very common yet ancestral ways of cooking in Ivory Coast are through fermentation, salt preservation, sun-drying, burying under the sand and smoking food. These are now a trend in the Western world but has always been part of the cooking process in Ivory Coast and many African countries, due to the humid and tropical weather. We conserve cooked or raw food in certain leaves that keep them fresh for weeks without the need to be refrigerated! Rethinking cooking habits is actually going back to the ancient ways of handling food, as my ancestors did.
You’ve worked in corporate settings and high-pressure kitchens – when did you know food was your true calling, and what gave you the courage to pursue it?
My father being a chef means I have always been involved in hospitality. My parents entertained and hosted parties a lot to welcome friends and family at home. Event organising is something I know, so it was natural for me to transition from corporate to the kitchen. The true calling came when I worked in a big electrics company that was postponing hiring me with an indefinite contract, despite good results in my work. I realised that giving your best and working that hard would be better directed into my own company than working for people that do not recognise your worth and use you until they do not need you. That’s when I said “stop”, started concentrating on my mental health and created Douceurs D'Ivoire.
Your daughter sometimes joins you in the kitchen. What’s it like passing on your food traditions to the next generation – and what has she taught you about cooking?
I have a real feeling of pride and relief that my little one is interested in the food from home. She loves it as well so that's even better! Passing my food traditions to the next generation is the key to success and making your work live eternally. As long as it is done with empathy, good learning and the love and respect of the product and the land, there is no way we will lose the culture that I carry from my parents and those who came before them.
