In the Kitchen with Chef Aminata Dia of Le French
WRITTEN BY ANNIE BLOJ // CULTURE & STYLE EDITOR
PHOTOGRAPHED BY ESTHER LEE LEACH
HAIRSTYLING BY LYSIANE HENDERSON
Annie Bloj: Chef Aminata Dia, your hospitality shone through at the photoshoot when you laid out a delicious spread and popped some champagne for us! The transformative experiences you have had around the world bring a distinctly European sensibility to Denver. Le French, your sleek and elegant restaurant nestled in the Belleview Station area of the Denver Tech Center, provides an authentic French experience for your guests. You and your sister (Rougui Dia), who is also your cofounder, create elevated modern cuisine with global influences, a nod to your heritage from both Senegal and France.
You were born in Senegal but moved just outside of Paris when you were a young girl. While you were in France, you began to recognize a passion for food; how did you start identifying that inclination?
Aminata Dia: I grew up in a family that really cooked everything from scratch. I started cooking at a very young age with my mom, and that is where I developed my passion for food and hospitality. I fondly remember going to the Rungis food market (outside Paris) with my dad to buy local, fresh ingredients in the pre-dawn hours.
AB: What brought you to Denver?
AD: I moved to the U.S. 20 years ago with my husband and our five children for his IT work. We first lived in San Francisco for two years. We had friends that lived in Colorado and visited them in the summer of 2000. We fell in love with the state and moved here in 2002.
AB: You pursued your love of food by getting a degree at the Art Institute of Colorado. What prompted you to open Le French?
AD: After earning my culinary degree at the Art Institute of Colorado, I started AmiCuisine in 2007, a successful catering company. During that time, my sister Rougui also had a very successful career as a chef in France. We had always dreamt about opening a restaurant together. After my youngest child’s graduation, we decided to actualize our dreams and open Le French.
“I love having the opportunity to share my passion for food with our community.”
AB: What do you love most about owning a restaurant, and how has the Denver community embraced Le French?
AD: I love having the opportunity to share my passion for food with our community. I have always wanted to leverage my dual French and Senegalese background to design menus that offer more sophisticated dishes, made with mostly French cooking techniques combined with global spices and Senegalese or American influences.
We are amazed and very thankful for the community’s support and reaction. We have people who are coming into the restaurant, and they just want to hug us. That’s how excited they are to have us in the community. It’s amazing.
AB: Can you share one of your favorite recipes for our readers to try at home?
AD: Here is my recipe for Tian En Tartine:
Ingredients:
· 6 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
· 2 large yellow onions thinly sliced
· Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
· 2 tsp. chopped thyme
· 6 cloves garlic, minced
· 1 lb. medium zucchini, cut thin slices
· 1 1⁄2 lb. small, firm eggplant, cut into thin slices
· 1 1⁄2 lb. ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into thin slices
· 2 tbsp. lemon juice
· ½ cup gruyère cheese grated
· Toasted French baguette
· Bayonne Ham (or Prosciutto)
· Basil leaves, to garnish
· Olive oil, to drizzle
Instructions:
1/ Put oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, and lemon juice. Cook 2 minutes more.
2/ Heat oven to 400°. Spread the cooked onion mixture in the bottom of a large heavy style baking dish. Arrange the zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes in alternating rows. Nice row of overlapping zucchini slices, follow with a row of eggplant, then a row of tomatoes in the same way, packing the rows tightly together. Layer until the baking dish is totally covered. Sprinkle the surface of the vegetables generously with salt and pepper, and gruyère cheese.
3/ Bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° and continue baking for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the vegetables are tender. Cool down to room temperature.
4/ Spoon out and arrange the vegetables on a toasted slice of baguette and top it with the ham.
5/ Garnish with torn basil leaves and drizzle with olive oil. Enjoy with a chilled rosé Champagne and Bon Appétit!
Aminata Dia: @ami_dia
Le French: @lefrenchdenver // 4901 S Newport St, Denver CO 80237
Writer: Annie Bloj: @theblojreport
Photographer: Esther Lee Leach: @estherleeleach
Hairstylist: Lysiane Henderson: @lysiane_henderson