Chef Niema to appear on Food Network's 'Beat Bobby Flay' this Thursday
Shreveport Chef and Executive Chef at Abby Singer's Niematulai "Niema" DiGrazia, known as Chef Niema, will be gracing the Food Network stage this Thursday.
DiGrazia will be on "Beat Bobby Flay" May 29, Season 38, Episode 9, "Fight Like a Lion". This episode will feature chefs Eric Adjepong, Jaymee Sire, Solomon Johnson and DiGrazia.
"Being chosen to compete and embrace the stage of the Food Network was mind blowing. A girl who did not go to school to be a chef but was able to showcase her craft," DiGrazia said.
DiGrazia has always had to wear her strength and confidence on her sleeve, since escaping Sierra Leone to the neighboring country of Guinea with her family. There her talents for fashion and food emerged through the talents of her late mother, Fatmata Binta Bah.
"I am super grateful not to just represent Sierra Leone, but to represent Louisiana as a whole, but specifically the mecca of food... let us rise above New Orleans, because I believe Shreveport-Bossier is the mecca of food," DiGrazia said.
DiGrazia was born in Sierra Leone but has lived in the United States for 12 years.
"I've lived in places, but not as long as I've lived in the United States of America," she said.
When DiGrazia moved to Shreveport, she said she had to showcase the places she lived out of necessity. "I wanted an African place that I can go to and eat good food. I wanted a place where I can go to and shop for good clothing, and it happened to be not available in this area where I find myself," DiGrazia said. "Out of necessity, I was able to create a shopping experience in my home, and then gradually have people taste my food, and they were able to encourage me to take this out into the world and let other people try what I have to offer."
She said this opportunity on Food Network didn't just happen by mistake, it's because she has had to put in the work.
DiGrazia said it started with an email.
"I thought it was a scam," she said. "I didn't think it was real, because all of the chefs in the city they're choosing Chef Niema."
She said she responded to one of the emails with her phone number stating if it was a scammer they would not call her. Shortly after that email she got a call asking if she had ever heard of the show "Beat Bobby Flay."
"I was flying out from Washington, D.C., to Shreveport, and I paused and did a dance at the airport," she said. "Then I went back to the phone, and I said, 'Yes, actually, he's my icon.' And they were like, 'We know you didn't apply for this, so we wanted to see if you're available.'"
DiGrazia agreed to the competition and said, "any opportunities that fall on my lap, I take it. It's either win or lose. But one thing I'm going to do, I'm going to show up, show out and be myself."
To watch DiGrazia on the big screen tune in at 8 p.m. Thursday, May 29, on The Food Network. To show your support, tag any private watch parties with #ChefNiema, #BeatBobbyFlay, #ShreveportBossier and #AbbySinger's.
"Niematulai means gift from God. So, I feel like I am a gift to this state and to this wonderful city," DiGrazia said.
More: 5 people to watch in arts and entertainment in Shreveport, Bossier City in 2022
Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Chef Niema to appear on Food Network's Beat Bobby Flay May 29
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