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Afropean Street Food
you think about the country. If you open your mind, I can speak to everyone. All the dishes on the menu some people know. Some [are] from Cameroon and some from Guadeloupe, and this is the best way to talk to people,” says Rudy. With some recipe modifications needed due to not being able to find specific ingredients, some of the duo’s popular dishes on the menu include the Afrocaribéenne (braised chicken with West Indian curry, Afro-Caribbean sweet potato duo and coconut vanilla sauce), the Afrosubsaharienne (braised chicken with penja pepper served with basmati rice, plantains and a Cameroonian spiced peanut sauce) and the Afrovégane (cassava semolina, candied tomatoes and herbs, plantains, corn on the cob and braised okra with a sauce of your choice). The Lainés add extra touches to dishes by creating special concoctions, cooking over charcoal, adding special herbs and spices and creating sauces such as a yassa sauce, which uses kankan spices and more.
assionate about cooking and entertaining, brothers Rudy and Joel Lainé embarked on a culinary The Power of Food journey several years ago in Paris. When speaking about New Soul Food, The brothers know their way around the Rudy shares that what he is doing with kitchen as they prepare dishes rooted in his brother goes beyond cooking good their parents’ homelands—their mother food. “We try to educate White and is from Cameroon and their father from Black [people]. The food is the best way Guadeloupe—under their brand New Soul to touch everybody,” he says. Food that includes two restaurants, a food And they have the fan base to do so. truck, a food booth and a line of hibiscusNamed “Best Food Truck” by the Street infused drinks. Food International Festival in Paris in Rudy and Joel like to call their approach 2017, their first venture, L’Afro Truck, to food “Afropean,” which allows them has served food on the forecourt of the By Angela P. Moore to incorporate ingredients and cultures National Library of France (François(@travelnistatravelagency) into dishes served on their award-winning Mitterrand site) and La Defense. food truck, L’Afro Truck, and at their Everywhere they go, the lines grow with restaurants Le Marquis (The Marquis) and La Darkanda new and repeat customers. This proved helpful when opening (Dark Kitchen). Le Marquis in 2019. The culinarians’ goal is to introduce Parisians and those visiting the city to braised chicken, a dish of African street culture. They have done that and so much more. A Family That Cooks Together If you come for the food, be sure to have a drink, specifically The Lainé brothers are no strangers to the kitchen; they come one of the hibiscus-infused drinks, a frozen cocktail or beersap, from a family of chefs and pastry chefs. Growing up, the brothers a blonde ale beer the duo created. would help their father at the family’s restaurant. According As word continues to get out about these two brothers in Paris, to Rudy, the brothers loved to cook with their father, and they more food enthusiasts near and far will soon be introduced to couldn’t wait until they were grown so they could follow in his their passion and commitment. Both Rudy and Joel believe that footsteps. Now in business for over seven years, Rudy hopes using food as a way to connect people and cultures creates a better to one day come to America to share his version of soul food. place for everyone. “My dream is one day to go to New York,” he says. Visit newsoulfood.com for locations and hours and follow At all of their locations under New Soul Food, Rudy and Joel Rudy and Joel on Instagram (@newsoulfood) for happenings, are intentional about representing their family roots and the events and more. impact that they can have. “When you think about one dish, 6 CUISINE NOIR | ANNUAL 2023/2024
Photography: New Soul Food
Rudy and Joel Lainé Bridge Traditions with New Soul Food in Paris
