Born and raised in Freetown, Sierra Leone, to first-generation Sierra Leonean Fulani of Guinean descent, Chef Fatmata Binta is a modern-day nomadic chef connected to the Fulani culture, customs, and cuisine of the biggest Nomadic group in West and Central Africa.

She grew up in a Fulani community, and the culinary inspiration she sought propelled her onto the global stage. Chef Binta has traveled to many countries, to explore diverse cooking techniques, ingredients, and ways of life. And she collaborates with internationally renowned chefs.

She recently launched the global chef’s challenge in collaboration with FAO to get cooks and foodies around the world to use more millets, including a Fonio campaign challenging restaurants in Accra and around the world to use this iconic grain.

Chef Binta’s fine dining experience with traditional Fulani cuisine has translated to her recent awards—the 2022 Basque Nobel Culinary World Prize, and she is the Winner of the Best Chef Rising Star Awarded 2021 and the Founder of Fulani Kitchen Foundation, Founded in 2020. Bloomberg also created a video to showcase Chef Binta’s vision and mission and to highlight the ancient grain fonio, which Chef Binta sees as a solution to food security in Africa and the rest of the world.

The Basque World Prize has enabled Chef Binta to provide machinery for her Fulani Kitchen Foundation to help women in Northern Ghana harvest their fonio crops less tediously, ultimately increasing supply locally and helping the women scale internationally.