Chef Niema DiGrazia is an award-winning Afro-Fusion chef, restaurateur, TV personality, entrepreneur, and cultural ambassador helping elevate African cuisine in today’s American culinary scene. Raised in West Africa, she discovered her love of cooking early, inspired by her late mother, whose creativity with simple ingredients shaped her view of food as an expression of love, resilience, hospitality, and community. That foundation still guides her tradition-rooted, innovative approach.

Based in Shreveport, Louisiana, Chef Niema is the founder and executive chef of Niema’s West African & Caribbean Cuisine, where she highlights the flavors and stories of West Africa and the Caribbean through elevated hospitality and dining. Through her restaurant, events, media work, and cultural initiatives, she has become a leading voice for African cuisine. She gained national recognition through Food Network appearances, including defeating Bobby Flay on Beat Bobby Flay: Fight Like a Lion, and has also appeared on Chef Grudge Match and Chopped: African Soul, showcasing the depth and sophistication of African cuisine to national audiences.

Her work has earned honors including Louisiana Cookin’ Chef to Watch, the Excellence in Hospitality Award for Outstanding Culinary Professional, and recognition among North Louisiana’s Most Powerful Women, along with proclamations and commendations for her impact on culinary arts, cultural preservation, tourism, and economic development. Known for dishes like her award-winning Maafe, Bayou Braised Oxtails with Golden Grit Cake, elevated Jollof rice, and Afro-Asian collaborations, Chef Niema blends West African traditions, Louisiana ingredients, and global influences into a culinary voice that is both rooted and distinctive. Today, she continues to connect cultures through food, showing that African cuisine is not only part of the global culinary conversation, but helping shape its future.