Akwasi Brenya-Mensa (Tatale: The Restaurant, Dining Series, and Other Iterations)

[**New episodes of ATTC are now available in video! You can watch on Spotify, or YouTube. Or you can just keep on listening in all the same places you usually do.**]

As he prepares to introduce his Tatale dining series to NYC, Ghanaian-British chef, restaurateur, and interdisciplinary creative Akwasi Brenya-Mensa discusses his life and career to date. He and Andrew get into his African-focused upbringing in London, his adventures in the music world, and eventual commitment to the culinary realm. **Please note: Andrew misspoke in this episode's introduction; Akwasi's spring/summer 2026 dinner series runs for 12 weeks, not 10. Our sincere apologies for the error!**

Our great thanks to our presenting sponsor, meez, the recipe-operating system for culinary professionals.

Thanks also to Gage & Tollner for providing our location. Please keep Gage & Tollner in mind for drinking and/or dining in Downtown Brooklyn, and for special and private occasions. 

And thanks to S.Pellegrino for their longstanding support of the pod.

Episode host/producer: Andrew Friedman

Producer: Roderick Alleyne

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.

We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. 

Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.

For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.

Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!