African Restaurant Week presented the 2015 Edible Bazaar Benefit which was proudly co-sponsored by Edible Magazine and UBER.

The benefit was held on June 9th, 2015 at Taj II which is located at 48 West 21st Street, New York.

So when I arrived at Taj, the line for the food served buffet style was very, very long and the food smelled amazing.

So I got myself a plate and below you’ll see what I decided to try starting at 12:00 p.m.

So I had rice and beans, rice and shrimp, lemon chicken and then grilled chicken with veggies. But let me tell you that the food was fabulous.  Each serving on the plate was seasoned just perfectly and all of the different foods just melded and melted in your mouth with practically no effort at all.  I mean that the food was outstanding!!

Then next I was sitting next to these three gals…

and it just so happened that the gal in the purple dress-was cousins with JJ Johnson who was being honored as The 2015 Chef of the Year.

How lucky was I…because I got to meet JJ…

JJ shared with me that the restaurant where he is Chef de Cuisine is The Cecil Harlem which is owned by Harlem Jazz Enterprises along with Minton’s.

JJ shared with me that the food that he cooks is a study of the African Diaspora and its Asian influence and African Diaspora influence on Asian cooking as well.

Meeting JJ was a very special treat and then to top the evening off I also got to meet Yaf Boye-Flaegel, who was honored as the 2015 Community Leader of the Year.

Yaf has a jewelry boutique on Orchard Street called Yaf Sparkle and below you can see some of her very fashionable selections of jewelry on display…

However, Yaf is being honored as the 2015 Community Leader of the Year because she founded The ASB Foundation www.asbaction.org.  The ASB Foundation was founded in 2007 to carry on the work of Amette Solum Boye who devoted herself to helping the disadvantaged families of Koutal, Senegal.

Loutal, Senegal is a village where the parents have leprosy and are very, very, poor and disadvantaged.  The ASB Foundation plans to make a difference in the lives of these very disadvantaged people and provide the village with basic necessities and to let the children know that they are special and will be taken care of.

In my book it doesn’t get more special than that!!!

So if you really want to treat yourself to some great food and learn more about African culture then go to www.nyarw.com and find some incredible African Restaurants to experience and enjoy.