Award-winning chef, culinary story teller, and documentary film maker Adé Carrena shares the personal and political layers behind her food, her documentary work, and the mission driving iLeWA Foods and Dounou Supper Club. In this episode, Adé opens up about her experience as an older adopted child and her experience both from her native country of Benin and assimilating to western culture at age 10 - and how it shaped her approach to cooking, storytelling, and entrepreneurship. The conversation centers on one big idea: success is not just about scale, it is about staying rooted in your values. We also talk about motherhood, adoption, identity, and what scaling ethically looks like to her. ‼️JOIN OUR PATREON COMMUNITY 🥰 to support this work and keep these conversations going for the women who need them. ‼️ Key topics In this episode: Adé describes herself as “delusional” in the best way, meaning she believes ideas can become reality if she keeps figuring out the path from thought to action.In this episode: both Sara and Adé talk about the tension of being a maker and a promoter at the same time, especially when you are the whole company.In this episode: motherhood changed Adé’s relationship to perfection. She says having her daughter taught her to be imperfect, and that shows up in her food, her plating, and how she leads her team.In this episode: the two reflect on how convenience culture has made cooking more solitary, while food at its core has always been communal and relational.In this episode: Adé explains how restaurants teach crisis management, composure under pressure, adaptability, and other skills that transfer far beyond hospitality.In this episode: she shares the story of her first pop-up, a $35 ticketed dinner that made no money but proved to her that she had found her path.In this episode: Adé talks about leaving banking to pursue food, and how COVID pushed her to rethink what success and stability really meant.In this episode: she explains why she calls herself a cook and storyteller first, honoring the women in her lineage who passed down food knowledge long before formal culinary language existed.In this episode: Adé goes deep on the ritual she performs in the kitchen, inviting her ancestors into the work and treating cooking as a spiritual practice.In this episode: the conversation turns to adoption, including Adé’s view that adopted children need emotional support, cultural care, and recognition of their agency.In this episode: Adé shares how meeting filmmaker Brad led to Bite of Benin, a 36-minute documentary that intentionally avoids exploiting trauma and instead centers beauty, history, and complexity.In this episode: she breaks down the mission of Ilewa Foods, which sources from women in Benin and is built to create jobs without compromising the people at the heart of the work.In this episode: Adé explains why she is not opening a traditional restaurant right now, even after major recognition, because the lifestyle, burden, and values do not currently align.In this episode: she highlights the importance of women mentors in hospitality, including Chef Ashley Christensen and Chef Georgiana Vieux, and how they shaped her thinking about leadership and abundance.In this episode: the conversation closes on grace, identity, and the idea that people can be wrong about you, and that sometimes your job is simply to keep moving forward.Timestamps 00:00 - The challenge of being the maker and the messenger 00:56 - “Delusional” in the best way 02:52 - Motherhood teaching imperfection 07:00 - Convenience culture and isolation 08:16 - Community, conflict, and discomfort 10:30 - Open-door hospitality in Benin 11:28 - Adé’s background: Benin, French, Connecticut 13:22 - Why restaurant work felt like art 15:14 - Restaurant skills that transfer everywhere 16:54 - COVID, calm under pressure, and survival mode 20:38 - You cannot be the best at everything at once 21:54 - The first pop-up that changed everything 24:29 - Leaving banking and choosing the path 28:06 - Why Adé calls herself a cook, not a chef 30:27 - Ritual in the kitchen and ancestral guidance 32:54 - How Bite of Benin began 36:05 - Protecting stories from exploitation 39:48 - Adoption, agency, and the child’s perspective 43:19 - Making the film with intention and beauty 45:33 - Why the documentary humanized her mother 47:15 - The film’s impact on schools and young people 51:39 - Reconnecting with her mom and finding Ilewa Foods 54:20 - Economic power for women in Benin 56:01 - Scaling without abandoning the source 59:29 - The audacious dream for Ilewa Foods 62:07 - What Beninese food tastes like 66:38 - Letting go, delegation, and growth 70:12 - Why she is not opening a restaurant right now 73:10 - Building work opportunities, not just a dining room 74:12 - Why the supper club works 77:24 - Different business models, different tradeoffs 81:09 - Grace, humanity, and the reset after success 84:32 - How Adé met Chef Ashley Christensen 89:57 - Meeting Chef Georgiana Vieux through MAP 91:17 - France, shared timelines, and future documentaries 94:22 - The historical weight of the Bight of Benin 96:10 - Healing, bridge-building, and shared humanity 97:07 - Where to find Adé and her work Notable moments: “I think I can do anything. And my motto is if I can imagine it, then it’s possible.” “The most powerful thing you can do is let other people be wrong about you CONNECT WITH ADÉ: iLeWA Foods - Adé's spice companyUpcoming Dounou Supper Club EventsConnect on Instagram: @adecarrenaAction items If you are building a food business, think carefully about whether scale is aligned with your values.If you work in hospitality, pay attention to the transferable skills you are already developing under pressure.If you are telling personal or cultural stories, consider what should be shown, what should be left out, and who deserves the right to hear the full version.If you are navigating identity, family history, or adoption, remember that agency and context matter just as much as intention.If you are an entrepreneur, ask whether your current model gives you autonomy, sustainability, and room to stay human.