Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (2013–2018): Season 7, Episode 6 - Senegal - full transcript

[Bourdain]

Some places surprise you.

♪

[Bourdain]

Even if you've been traveling

nearly nonstop

for 15 years, like me,

there are places

that snap you out

of your comfortable worldview,

take your assumptions



and your prejudices,

and turn them upside down.

♪

[Bourdain]

They lead you to believe

that maybe there

is hope in the world.

Senegal is one of those places.

[Lanegan and Homme]

♪ I took a walk through this

♪ Beautiful world

♪ Felt the cool rain

♪ On my shoulder

♪ Found something good



♪ In this beautiful world

♪ I felt the rain

getting colder ♪

♪ Sha la, la, la, la

♪ Sha la, la, la, la, la

♪ Sha la, la, la, la

♪ Sha la, la, la, la, la

[engine turns over]

♪

[Bourdain]

At first you see what you see

in so many places in Africa,

the noisy streets,

busy markets,

the controlled, consensual

chaos of daily commerce.

Da, da, da, da, da!

[horn honking

and people talking]

[Bourdain] But look

just a little bit longer,

a little bit deeper,

and you'll see

it's so different here

from its neighbors--

from anywhere, really.

A rebuke to those who'd

paint a whole continent

as a monolith of despair

or Islam as something

to be feared.

Senegal turns

simple-minded assumptions

and prejudice on their heads

at every turn.

How did you come

to know and like

and love this country?

I think it

was just listening

and watching and thinking,

"Gosh, this is quite different

to all the other countries

I know."

For a start, the language.

-You've heard Wolof?

-Yes.

Rat-tat-tat-tat

tat-tat-tat.

[speaking Wolof]

Sometimes you'd think

people were quarreling.

-Right.

-And they're not.

They're laughing.

But they're laughing.

[Bourdain] Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

is the NPR Africa

correspondent.

She's of Ghanaian descent

but has made Dakar,

the Senegalese capital,

her home for over ten years.

[Quist-Arcton] The Senegalese

are easy to get on with,

and they care about you,

and I guess that's what

we all want as human beings,

isn't it, to be loved,

to be cherished?

And I've found that here.

I won't be here forever,

'cause I'm from Ghana,

but I will be visiting forever,

because there

are no two Senegals.

I mean, c'est vraiment

un pays extraordinaire.

I think the Senegalese

are extraordinary.

They're open.

They welcome you.

And for me...

that about makes

a good place to live.

[Bourdain] I feel like I came

with this assumption

that Senegal would be

yet another failed state

or yet another state

that has gone through

a--a really terrible

postcolonial period,

that never really--

that transitioned badly.

You'll know that Senegal

is one of the few countries

-never had a coup d'état.

-Mm-hmm.

And I think that just makes

such a huge difference

to a nation.

-We're in a 90-plus percent

Muslim country.

-[Bourdain] Right.

[Quist-Arcton]

Their first president

a Catholic who governed

for 20 years.

And of course, there were

elements of repression

but not as we've seen

in many other

African countries.

♪

[Bourdain] Europeans first

reached West Africa

in the mid-15th century,

bringing with them

the usual things,

an industrialized slave trade,

subjugation,

the rule of the many

by the very few.

In the carving up

of a continent,

it was France

that got Senegal,

and commanding a favored status

within France's West African

colonial holdings,

the Senegalese gained

full rights as French citizens

in the late 1800s.

With independence in 1960,

power passed bloodlessly

and with stunning cordiality.

Though overwhelmingly

a Muslim country,

Senegal elected

Léopold Senghor,

a Catholic,

as their first president,

and from that time on,

Senegal has enjoyed

a moderate political

and religious climate unique

almost anywhere in the world.

[Thiam] Well, food is great

when cultures meet, you know,

because the colonial power

brought the food culture.

I think that's what

makes great food,

and Senegal is great for that

because of its geographical

location.

It's a crossroad.

I think that's what makes

the food quite unique here.

[Bourdain]

Pierre Thiam is a chef,

restaurateur,

and cookbook author

who was born

and raised here in Dakar.

His books are absolutely

fundamental references

when investigating

Senegalese cuisine.

[Thiam] This is Senegalese'

favorite fish.

It is called ciof. It kind

of tastes like grouper,

-so I think we should

have it, good fish.

-All right.

[Bourdain] Senegal

has famously delicious food,

flavors and often ingredients

that should be eerily familiar

to any fan of Southern cooking.

We meet at

Coeur de Casacion Beach,

serving food just

the way I like it.

A shack on the water,

catch of the day,

cooked up out back.

[Thiam] This whole thing

is illegal, actually.

-This is--they don't

have a license.

-[Bourdain] But, I mean,

they're continuously

operate--I mean--

But every once in a while--

once in a while,

I come and it's closed.

The police shuts them down.

Right. Then they

come back.

And then they come back,

you know?

Oh, these are supposed

to be good, right?

This is local beer.

This is the finest

of the local beer.

Well, it's considered

the people's beer.

It's the cheapest one.

Oh, well, that figures.

I'm a cheap date.

[laughs]

-Do you wanna to hide

these in the--

-[Thiam] Actually, yeah.

Just put it under

the table, actually.

[Bourdain] You know what

I'm gonna do here?

-Cheers, man.

-Cheers.

-Welcome to Dakar.

-Thank you.

So I'm really interested

in your story.

I mean,

you were born here.

[Thiam]

Yeah, right here, Dakar.

-Right here in Dakar.

-Yeah.

-Went to New York.

-[Thiam] Yes.

I mean, I'm jumping

ahead some, but--

First job in New York

was a restaurant job, like--

-Of course.

-An immigrant.

You know, as a busboy,

actually,

but from a busboy,

you just fell in love

with what was happening

behind the kitchen,

'cause, you know,

I come from a culture

where kitchen is a women

activity, you know,

so it's like I'd never

seen men cooking.

What was the type of cuisine

you were learning?

It was the American culture,

and it's American.

And then it turned

into Jean Claude.

-It was a French bistro.

-Right.

[Thiam] Then from Jean Claude,

Boom opened around the corner.

-It was, like, early '90s--

-Wait a minute.

Boom on Spring Street?

-On Spring Street!

-Okay, wait a minute, now.

I used to work

at that store.

Before, it was called WPA.

So we worked in the same

restaurant kitchen.

[Thiam]

In the same kitchen.

Downstairs--kitchen

was downstairs.

I can't believe this, man,

'cause Boom was really

the defining moment for me.

Boom had, like, this

global ethnic/Italian--

So you saw a window

to start introducing

African--West

African flavors?

-Yeah.

-And it worked.

People were receptive

to that.

Absolutely.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

♪

[Bourdain] Oh, wow.

Tonight we're having yassa,

made with a local fish

called ciof,

cooked simply on the bone,

wrapped in foil,

and steamed over the fire,

served with a mignonette-type

sauce of onions...

Grilled mussels,

sea urchin.

-Mm. Grilled mussels--cool.

-[Thiam] Yeah.

[Bourdain] Oh, and that's

good. I'm starving.

I mean, I'm really hungry.

So what distinguishes

Senegalese cuisine

from the neighbors'?

I think we have the best

food in the culture.

Have you--you've traveled

in the American South?

Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, you noticed some

things about the food?

It's familiar.

It's so familiar.

I mean, look--like,

shrimp and grits, okay?

I mean, I've eaten shrimp

and grits in Africa many times.

I mean, they call it

something else.

Exactly. I think

the most interesting part

of American food

is our contribution.

[Bourdain]

How did you feel

when you first

turned on the TV

and you see some,

you know, rich white lady,

and she says, "Well, we're

about to do, you know,

my fam--this is

an old family recipe,

you know,

an American classic,

a traditional favorite."

And you said,

"Wait a minute. That's..."

-"That's mine."

-"That's mine."

I mean, happy, proud,

pissed off--what?

Oh, yeah, proud, proud,

happy to--no, not pissed off.

No, no, never--

I was never pissed off.

I thought, you know--

you know, I think food

is such a great way

of uniting people, you know?

It's like a--

breaking barriers.

Food is not only about

feeding yourself here.

In Senegal,

it's a whole culture.

The most important value

is what we call teranga.

The more you share,

the more your bowl

will be plentiful.

It's not how much you have,

it's how much you give.

That's what matters

in Senegal.

So teranga

is that culture.

♪

[Bourdain] The call to prayer

five times a day, every day,

but Friday at 2:00 p.m.

is the most important.

♪

[Bourdain] Dakar shuts down

as people head to the mosque.

The invocation of the Muslim

reverberates

throughout the city.

♪

[Bourdain]

The mosques fill to capacity.

People spill onto

the sidewalks and streets.

They pray where they can.

In Senegal, the majority

of people are Sufi Muslims,

practicing a mystic

form of Islam

which is often considered

more tolerant.

[Diouf]

Senegal is very different

from other countries.

We are very tolerant.

We also have,

in Senegalese family,

Christian married to Muslim,

-Muslim married to Christian.

-Uh-hmm.

[Diouf] So you don't really know

exactly who's Christian,

and you don't really know

who's Muslim.

[Bourdain]

It is a comfortable assumption

that Islam

is oppressive to women,

that it allows no room

for personal expression,

that it forces women

to hide themselves.

These ladies, however,

make that argument

more complicated.

Fama Diouf is a photographer.

Umi Nador is a journalist

and television presenter.

Minyel Tal is an entrepreneur

and owner of a group of salons.

As the country changes,

many, if not most,

have adopted

the cultural values

and styles of the West.

However, two of these women

have chosen to wear

the traditional hijab.

A lot of people

who watch this,

particularly women,

look at the hijab

in particular

as an instrument--

at very least

as an instrument

of male oppression.

What would you

say to them?

For me, religion is a--

is a personal thing,

and I--and I decide--

decided to get this.

So why people keep

on asking me every day,

"Why? Why? Why?"

[Bourdain] Well, I think

the simple answer

is that what to you

is a personal

lifestyle choice

looks to much of the world

like a political choice.

-It is a choice for me.

-[Tal] Yeah.

So some of Senegalese girls,

they have choice

to wear Western clothes.

I have, also, the right

to wear Arab fashion.

In a way,

the reason behind it,

for every Muslims,

will be modesty.

Whether you come from

a rich background

or a poor background,

people should not judge you

on the way you dress.

She doesn't want

you to be like,

"Oh, my gosh,

I loved her hair.

Ooh, the earrings.

Oh, the watch!" No.

You see us as

something threatening,

but we are just

here in peace.

♪

[Bourdain] What about women's

roles here, traditionally?

In many of the African

countries that I've been to,

often you will see

the man walking up front

and behind, the wife

and the children, you know,

carry--carrying

the bucket of water

or you know, laden down,

doing the work.

I mean, here in Dakar,

you're not gonna see it.

[laughs]

You say that

with determination.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

I am definitely

determined, okay?

As if you will personally

ensure that you won't.

[Diouf] Yes.

[laughter]

[Diouf] Seriously,

I think it's time

for women to change

the face of Senegal.

Why not now?

They're not ready

for that right now.

Why not? What's missing?

[Tal] You will

have powerful women,

like, arguing for what

we call parité here,

so gender balance,

and then you take

that same woman

and you tell her

that her son

is supposed

to start cooking

and doing the laundry,

laundry's even worse.

What's--I'm sorry.

What's wrong with that?

So for Senegalese women,

taking care of her man

and treating him

as a king

is part of who she is,

and she's taking

proud out of it.

[Nador] It's too easy

to be a boy here in Senegal.

Nothing, nothing.

[Diouf] There's been men

in the position of presidential,

but we can have, also,

a woman in the head of Senegal.

If we don't try,

we will never know.

♪

♪

[Bourdain]

Sometimes we get lucky.

We get to do things

on this show because--

just because it's a show--

that are, frankly, awesome.

Like this,

a small restaurant in Dakar,

the delicious smells

of Senegalese cooking

coming from the kitchen,

a band.

♪

[singing in native language]

[Bourdain] Youssou N'Dour,

one of the most beloved

musicians

on the African continent,

famous throughout the world

for blending traditional music

of the region

with Cuban rumba,

American jazz, and R&B.

Mbalax, as it came to be known,

has had an enormous influence

on musicians worldwide,

like that Sting guy,

Tracy Chapman,

and St. Bruce of Asbury,

and, most famously,

his frequent collaborator,

Peter Gabriel.

♪

[Bourdain] People started

to talk about you

when you were age 12

when you started

to perform professionally.

[N'Dour] Yeah.

But did you come

from a musical tradition?

My mom, she's a griot.

Griot are the storytellers.

They are also singers,

rappers,

and [indistinct]

And I grow with my grandma.

She was a big singer.

She gave me

a lot of things.

And from there, going to

the school for two years,

then left the school

and start my career.

♪

[Bourdain] Tonight we

are having a beef màfe,

which is a stew thickened

with ground peanuts.

There are similar preparations

throughout West Africa,

but the Senegalese version

is particularly great.

Sear the beef, cook the onion,

garlic, peppers,

and carrots, deglaze with

ground peanuts and broth,

bringing up all

that good stuff from the pan.

Then simmer until

tender and awesome.

Serve hot over rice.

-Wow.

-[N'Dour] Ah.

-[Bourdain] That looks good.

-[N'Dour] Ah.

That's good, good,

good, good, good, good.

Thank you.

[Bourdain] Wow,

this is very, very good.

[N'Dour] The symbol

of connection

Mali and Senegal

is the màfe.

This dish,

you can appreciate here.

You can appreciate

in Mali also.

-[Bourdain]

So what's in the future?

-Future?

The future,

20 years from now,

where will Senegal be?

What I hope is,

in 20 years,

Senegal is gonna

be the place

for great

and big contribution

of what we call Islam.

Do you think

there's any danger

of the kind

of radical Islam

that we see

taking hold in...

many places in Africa?

All these people who

are using the religion,

Muslim religion

to do bad things,

I think Senegal

have an example.

I think this country

have models of the religion.

This country,

you know--you are here.

I'm doing my local bissap,

and you have--

with your beer.

I mean, the country,

95% Muslim--

[Bourdain] Right.

♪

[N'Dour]

And I think this example

can help all the world.

I hope so.

Inshallah.

Inshallah.

♪

♪

[Bourdain] Time stopped.

That's what it seems like

in the city of Saint-Louis

when the sun is at its highest

and the streets are empty.

[bicycle bell rings]

[Bourdain] A hundred sixty

miles up the coast from Dakar,

the one-time capital was a hub

for all French West Africa,

an important port at the mouth

of the Senegal River.

[speaking French]

[Bourdain]

Every culture has an iconic,

much-loved street food,

the kind of thing you yearn

for when you're away.

We have our dirty-water

hotdogs in New York.

Here they have ndambé.

Ndambé, s'il vous plaît?

What people have described

as a bean sandwich,

but what is really a spread

of spicy lentils on a baguette.

You buy your baguette

at the bakery,

bring it over to the nice lady.

She slathers on the good stuff,

and there you go.

And it is indeed

addictively delicious.

♪

I think that we can understand

the case of Saint-Louis,

the situation of Saint-Louis,

we can understand it only if

we know well, the geography.

Because what made this town

according to me, is the river.

Because it runs through

five states, five countries.

Mali, Mauritania, Senegal,

of course, Guinea.

So everything comes--

came through here.

[speaking French]

[Bourdain]

Attitudes about many things

are decidedly different here.

Where many postcolonial

cultures are ambivalent

or conflicted about

their bloodlines,

picking black or white

to identify with,

here, people are proud

of who they are

and where they came from--

all of it.

I'm curious why

the postcolonial

experience

in Senegal

is so different

than the postcolonial

experience

almost everywhere else.

I think that the pre-colonial

and the colonial experience

in Senegal is different also,

not only

the postcolonial experience,

because Saint-Louis

had lots of influences,

-I think.

-Arab, Portuguese--

So before that, Portuguese

and English first.

-Yes.

-They were here,

and after that,

the Morocco--

from the Morocco.

My feeling, you see, is that

because we are at the crossing

of various roads

independently from

the colonization period,

makes the Senegalese

people very open-minded,

very good negotiator also.

♪

[Bourdain]

Marie-Caroline Camara

is a Saint-Louis Métis,

Senegalese father,

French mother,

and she's hosted a lunch

with some friends

and colleagues,

all of whom consider themselves

Senegalese first

before anything.

[Camara] And my feeling compared

to other African countries

is that maybe it's come also

from the--the Wolof women,

because the Métis family here,

people were really married.

But at least--

[Bourdain] Between Wolof

and other groups? Okay.

[Camara] You know,

compared to West Indies,

where even if people had--

some white people

had children

with their slaves.

They were not recognized.

Here, all these children

and unions were recognized.

So for me,

that is very special.

[woman] The most riches

in Senegal is our culture.

It's not petrol, oil,

or other thing.

I think that it's our culture,

our type of life,

our customs.

[Bourdain] Music?

Music, yes.

Our culinary art.

Okay, so we're eating

mulet farci à la

Saint-Louisienne.

-[Bourdain] Lovely.

-[Camara] It's a big fish

from the river.

♪

[Bourdain]

Mulet farci, stuffed mullet,

the fish deboned and filled

with a seafood farci of fish,

herbs, vegetables,

and bread, and baked.

It's an amazing meal,

delicious.

-[Camara] Amazing meal?

-[Bourdain] Yes. Really good.

So how are things

in Senegal today?

As to what kind

of things?

[Bourdain]

Is the environment good

for business in Senegal now?

Is it getting better?

I mean, there seems

to be a lot of money

coming in, in Dakar.

You see buildings going up.

Somebody's building.

The key thing for me will be

the development of businesses

and--because when you look

at all these young people

in Saint-Louis

and there is...

no companies to employ them.

Let the young people take

a big part of the power,

which is not

in our tradition,

but we need the young

people to be--

to be strong.

[Bourdain] If you

could compare yourself

to someplace else in--

another major city

in the world...

-Yes?

-The New York

of Western Africa?

The Hong Kong of West Africa.

[Bourdain] Oh, ouch.

[laughs]

Yeah, you're right.

[laughter]

[singing in native language]

♪

[Bourdain]

Money, you like it. I like it.

We all like it.

And there's a flood of green

pouring into

the developing world,

greedhead foreign speculators,

for sure,

but also entrepreneurs,

often educated abroad

but returning

to build businesses

around a growing

middle class.

Telecoms to financial

institutions

to the restaurants

that grow up around them.

Makis were once neighborhood

working-class dive bars.

Now, many are becoming

more respectable

drinking establishments.

The Brooklynization

of Africa begins.

-[man] Cheers.

-[man] Yeah, cheers.

[Bourdain] I joined Pierre,

his film professor brother,

Christian Thiam,

and their friend Pap Majaoji,

a local businessman.

[Bourdain] Who is joining

the middle class in Senegal?

Where are they

coming from?

Most of the people

are local people

-who now get proper training.

-Right.

[Majaoji] And then

you have a small group

of guys like us

who went abroad

and are coming back.

[Bourdain] Now, a phenomena

that I have seen

in other countries

in West Africa

is one where people leave

either because of war,

oppression, necessity,

financial, education.

And when they come back,

there is resentment.

How did they feel

about people like you

who go and then come back?

[Majaoji] You know,

unlike most other places,

over here, there's

a tremendous amount of pride

in your family.

Senegalese rarely go

and just cut off.

[Pierre] Cut off, yeah.

It's true.

No, that's true,

but in addition too,

people who go,

they send money back home.

[Thiam] There's more money

coming from the immigrants

than the money that we

receive from the World Bank

or IMF

or anything like that.

[Bourdain] Why is this

the case in Senegal?

Where does this

attitude come from?

It's just the nature

of the social fabric.

It's not an

individualistic society.

What about the French

colonial experience?

That, too, was it

different than--

Very different from Senegal

to the other countries.

'Cause the French used

Senegal as their out--

as their anchor

for their colonial expansion.

The French then said,

"Okay, you Senegalese,

we're gonna train you

up to borderline

high school education,

and you're gonna be

the forefront,

the fulcrum of our--of

our administrative service."

So if you go to Côte d'Ivoire,

you go to Burkina,

a lot of the guys

who were running

the administration

were Senegalese.

[Thiam] I think one

of the major difference

between Senegal

and the other countries--

not that we are better

or anything like that,

but in Senegal--it's probably

one of the only country

in West Africa

or probably in all Africa

where I can be from

one ethnic group

and he can be from

a different ethnic group

but we can talk

without French,

using a local language,

and understand

each other,

'cause everybody

speaks Wolof.

I'm--I happen to believe

that this world is going

to be a better place

when more cultures

are actually given a chance

to be put at the table.

♪

[Bagdad] Yo, Senegal,

let's go [indistinct]

[speaking Wolof]

[crowd cheering]

[Bagdad rapping]

[Bagdad] Each generation

has its mission.

We have a saying in Wolof

[speaks Wolof]

That means, "God is great."

And we always say it

when there is no solution.

You say: [speaks Wolof]

You leave it in

the hand of God.

But we tell people,

"This is in our hand.

This is our future

and the future

of the next

generation coming."

♪

[Bourdain] As relatively

good as things have been

for Senegal, democracy,

as it turns out,

requires regular maintenance,

diligence needed,

and the willingness

to stand up.

♪

[Bourdain]

Djily Bagdad is a musician,

and activist

who's doing what, well,

the Last Poets and Chuck D

and others have done

before him,

say things that are important

loudly and often.

♪

[Bourdain]

They call them "dibiterie,"

and dibi is generally

grilled spiced lamb,

hacked into pieces and served

on grease-stained paper

with grilled onions

and mustard on the side.

Wow, that was quick.

From the beginning,

I mean,

was there always, like,

a social justice,

political component to what

you were doing musically?

From day one.

And the first thing we

did was go do a campaign

called "My Voting Card,

My Weapon,"

and we did songs,

and we did mobile concert

all over the country

to raise awareness,

and it was the bum-rushing

the registration spots.

Everybody went to register.

That's--that's a step.

As little as it could seem,

that's a step

into being conscious

of what your power is.

♪

[Bourdain]

In 2012, then-president

Abdoulaye Wade

fell victim to the

"maybe I should be president

for life" syndrome

that afflicts so many

of his neighbors.

He proposed amending

the constitution

so that he could run

for a third term,

as well as creating a new

vice presidential position,

which many feared

he intended for his son.

Djily and many, many

young people like him

were having none of it.

They formed a group called

Y'en a Marre, or Fed Up.

Using music

as a draw and a hook,

they threw enormous rallies

across the country,

made aggressive and innovative

use of social media,

all in the cause

of getting out the vote

and shutting anti-democratic

initiatives down.

It worked.

[Bagdad] I know that with this

[indistinct] movement like we

started and raising awareness,

I think the African

Union of people

can start from here,

'cause this is amazing.

The new generation will learn

from what we've done,

and maybe the next president

might not be a politician

at all.

You never know.

Obvious question:

why don't you run

for office?

No, I'm not--I'm

not--I'm not

an aspiring politician,

not at all,

but I can see my help--

myself helpful

for my community.

♪

[Bagdad]

We have everything to emerge.

It's about believe in ourself

and trusting ourself

that we can do it.

♪

♪

[Bourdain] Lac Rose,

known for its pink hue

and salt harvesters,

sits near the Senegalese coast.

And, not too long ago,

was also the finish line

for a legendary

trans-African endurance race.

-Okay?

-Yeah, great. No problem.

♪

[Bourdain] Driving up to 10,000

grueling kilometers from Paris,

south through Spain,

across Morocco,

down the Western Sahara,

all the way to, well,

right here.

♪

[Bourdain] The Paris-Dakar

Rally tested its drivers

like no other race,

sometimes driving

over 20 hours a day

over ground like this.

[Hezza] So this

is the same road

that the Rally

Paris-Dakar took.

[Bourdain] Jean Hezza

is a Senegalese

of Lebanese descent

who grew up here,

watching the final stretch

of the race.

It was a galvanizing

event for him.

He has since completed

the race himself three times.

So when I was young,

I came with my parents

to see the arrival

of the Paris-Dakar race.

-Yeah.

-That's why I like

to make races.

[Bourdain]

It's been eight years

since specially modified,

true off-road vehicles

with powerful engines

and cutting-edge designs

roared across the desert

and through tiny

African villages.

I, of course, had to try out

one of these beasts,

and it's about as much

fun as you can have

while wearing pants.

♪

Okay, straight?

-Okay, where am I going?

-Turn. Turn.

-It's nice.

-[Bourdain] Just like this?

-First time?

-Good pace--yeah.

It's like driving in snow.

[Hezza] Yes, yes.

[Bourdain] After tear-assing

around for a few hours,

it's traditionally chicken

and beer on the beach.

We're joined by Jean's fellow

Paris-Dakar racers,

Mame Less Diallo

and [indistinct]

[Hezza]

My friend Mame Less

made 12 times

the Paris-Dakar.

-[Bourdain] Twelve times?

-[Hezza] With bike--

-[Bourdain] In a motorbike?

-Yeah.

Wow.

So what happened?

It stopped in--

The last race was in '07.

In '08--

-[Bourdain] 2007?

-Yeah.

In--in--in--in 2008,

we were at the start,

and we didn't start.

That's right.

They canceled the--the race.

[Bourdain] In 2008,

officials shut the event down

with racers from all over

the world at the starting line,

a response to the murder

of four French citizens

in Mauritania

and to the discovery

of potential terrorist threats

against the race in the region.

The race,

now called the Dakar Rally,

was moved off

the African continent

and currently runs much

of the length of South America.

But will it come back?

What do you think?

-Here in Senegal?

-Yeah.

-Never.

-Whoa.

-I hope so.

-Never.

[Bourdain] Why? Why? Why never?

Because these people,

when they live,

they did it not

in a fair way.

So you think they don't

deserve to have it back?

-No.

-But there's still--

Is there still

racing here

within the country,

within Senegal?

I mean, you race.

We have,

after South Africa,

the second circuit in--

all over Africa.

It's very, very, very

important for our--

us, for Africa,

and it's exceptional for us.

How do you like the chicken?

It's okay?

Oh, man, it's good.

Are you kidding me?

I'm hitting it hard.

So you told me before

that if I wanted to,

I could get in the car

and drive to Saint-Louis.

-Yeah.

-That way.

How long will that take,

flat-out?

An hour and a half.

Let's go.

Let me finish my chicken.

[laughs]

♪

[Bourdain]

Pierre Thiam's Aunt Marie

is the matriarch of the family.

She often hosts uncles, aunts,

sons and daughters,

friends and relatives

from near and abroad.

[Thiam] Teranga is hospitality.

That's the translation,

but it's--it's the--

the most important value.

It's really the way

you treat the other.

Love--you receive love.

That's what teranga is.

So today you are our guest,

so you'll be treated

with our national dish.

♪

[Bourdain]

Everyone comes together often

over this iconic dish,

ceebu jen,

which in Wolof means simply

"rice with fish."

It's pretty much

the national dish of Senegal.

Today,

it's Senegalese grouper,

scored and stuffed

with a mixture of garlic,

parsley, and peppers,

then slow-simmered

in a hearty tomato broth,

infused with

a funkatizing goodness

brought by fermented

conch and salt fish,

served over rice

and vegetables.

I'm gonna watch you,

and I'm gonna do what you do.

[Thiam] Let's do it.

Let's do it.

[Bourdain] The meal is eaten

from one communal platter,

an experience both fun

and instructive,

sustenance and life lesson.

Mmm. Oh, that's good.

Oh, that sauce is awesome.

[woman] Normally, children

are not allowed to talk

and to go too far

in the middle of the plate.

[Bourdain] So they got

to eat around the edges?

[woman]

So you will have an adult,

the mother or an aunt

or something,

cutting pieces of fish

or meat for them.

[Thiam]

It's a way to teach them

to be content

with their portion.

-[Bourdain] Mm-hmm.

-Not only children

but everyone, you have

to imagine a triangle

in front of you,

and that's the triangle

that is your limit to the bowl.

-[Bourdain] Right.

-[Thiam]

You have to chew slowly.

There's--you have to be patient.

So all these values

are taught

when we eat

around the bowl.

[Bourdain] So if I were

looking for a metaphor

for a Senegalese society,

this would be it?

This is it.

This is Senegalese society.

Senegal is a special country.

[N'Dour singing in Wolof]

♪ Africa

♪

♪ We, Africa

[Bourdain] A few years back,

I got the words,

"I am certain of nothing"

tattooed on my arm.

It's what makes

travel what it is,

an endless learning curve,

the joy of being wrong,

of being confused.

Africa, more than

any other continent,

needs to be seen by the world.

It's both the place

we all came from

and where we are going.

♪ Work together

♪ Keep on walking

♪ Cheikh Anta Diop

♪ Kwame Nkrumah

♪ Stephen Biko

♪ Nelson Mandela

♪ All you people

♪ Africa...