Part of What The Food
Unpacking the global economic, social, and environmental ripple effects of what’s next in food.
About the Speakers
Fatmata Binta
Born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, to a Fulani family of Guinean descent, Chef Fatmata Binta
draws deeply from her nomadic roots to craft a culinary philosophy grounded in sustainability, storytelling, and cultural preservation. Raised in the traditions of the Fulani, West and Central Africa’s largest nomadic group, she transforms food into a powerful tool for empowerment, resilience, and global connection.
Central to her work is fonio, an ancient West African grain celebrated for its nutritional value and climate resilience. Through the Fulani Kitchen Foundation, launched in 2020, Binta partners with women farmers in Northern Ghana to improve fonio production, enhance processing techniques, and expand market access, preserving indigenous food systems while creating sustainable livelihoods.
Her acclaimed signature initiative, Dine on a Mat, is a nomadic pop-up dining experience that
invites guests to engage with Fulani culture through communal seating, storytelling, hand-eaten
dishes, and menus featuring ancestral ingredients like fonio, baobab, and African locust bean. Hosted across three continents, it has become a global celebration of Fulani culinary traditions.
In 2022, Chef Binta made history as the first African chef to win the prestigious Basque Culinary World Prize, recognized for using food as a medium for social innovation and cultural advocacy. Her foundation now supports over 300 families in Fulani communities across Ghana, empowering women through education, skills training, and transforming indigenous ingredients into income-generating enterprises.
In collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), she played a key role in the 2023 International Year of Millets, and in 2024 they launched a TCP project training 100 women fonio producers, boosting yields, incomes, and food security through indigenous grain cultivation.
Honors & Recognition:
• 2021 Best Chef Rising Star Award
• UN Tourism Ambassador for Responsible Tourism (2023)
• FAO Food Champion, advocating for indigenous African grains on a global scale
Blending heritage with innovation, Chef Fatmata Binta is transforming how the world experiences African food, celebrating its diversity, honoring its ancestral wisdom, and harnessing its power to drive sustainable change.
Ray Adriyansiah
Chef Ray Adriansyah was raised in Jakarta to Sumatran parents, with a mother whose excellent cooking skills gave him a deep interest in traditional and international cuisines. After graduating culinary school in New Zealand, Ray worked as Sous under Eelke in Jakarta, where they began their dream of starting a restaurant together dedicated to only using local ingredients. They opened Locavore in Ubud, Bali, 11 years ago and have since created several award-winning restaurant and bar concepts under the Locavore Group. In late 2023, Locavore restaurant grew to become Locavore NXT, a ‘more than a restaurant’ which takes their local-ingredients philosophy further than they have ever gone before.
Dina Macki
Dina Macki is a British–Omani Chef, Food Writer, and Consultant, known for bringing heart, heritage, and bold storytelling to everything she creates. With a deep-rooted passion for cultural identity and culinary history, Dina uses food as a bridge between worlds honouring tradition while pushing creative boundaries.
She is the author of Bahari: Recipes from an Omani Kitchen, hailed as one of 2024’s most exciting cookbooks and her work spans global brand collaborations, luxury menu curation, restaurant concepts, and immersive cultural & culinary activations
From consulting for governments on food tourism and cultural strategy, to creating immersive experiences that merge food with sport, perfume, and fashion, Dina uses food as a tool for communication and connection, helping brands tell deeper stories and build meaningful experiences. Whether crafting fine dining experiences in Salalah or designing brand activations in California, she leads with curiosity, empathy, and excellence, always with the aim of spotlighting her layered heritage on the global stage.