Nathalie Brigaud Ngoum, a multi-hyphenate chef
A consulting chef, award-winning author, visionary entrepreneur and leading figure in responsible gastronomy, Nathalie Brigaud Ngoum has, for over a decade, been shaping a distinctive approach at the intersection of food, health, innovation and identity. Through Envolées Gourmandes Group, she acts across the entire food value chain to sustainably transform the way African and Afro-descendant culinary heritages are perceived.
Nathalie Brigaud Ngoum is one of those personalities whose career defies categories. A renowned consulting chef, award-winning author, pioneering blogger, teacher, trainer, mentor, speaker, and engineer in marketing and distribution, she embodies a holistic vision of food, conceived both as an economic lever, a public health tool, a space for creation and a vehicle for cultural empowerment.
Born in Douala, Cameroon, into a family where cooking is a living heritage, she grew up immersed in know-how that was passed down, observed and practiced from an early age. Yet her initial academic path led her toward modern literature, which she studied up to a DEA level at Paris-Nanterre University. This literary background shaped her capacity for analysis, storytelling and meaning-making, which would profoundly influence the way she approaches gastronomy.
Strategic rigor, technical mastery and culinary creativity
She then complemented this foundation with a Specialized Master’s degree in Marketing and Distribution (CGE), before embarking on a demanding path of technical training in food-related professions: CAP Cuisine, CAP Boulangerie, certifications in plant-based and gluten-free pastry, in sustainable development applied to catering, three HEC Stand Up certificates, and a certificate in nutrition currently in progress. This rare journey enables her to combine strategic rigor, technical expertise and culinary creativity within a cross-cutting agri-food vision.
Envoleesgourmandes.com, an open space for resources and knowledge
In 2015, she founded the blog envoleesgourmandes.com, which has become, over the past ten years, an international reference in responsible, inventive and committed food. Far more than a recipe website, the platform has established itself as a space for reflection, transmission and the promotion of products, alternative flours and African superfoods, repositioned within their cultural, nutritional and economic contexts.
Today, Nathalie Brigaud Ngoum structures her work around four complementary pillars. Envolées Gourmandes Consulting supports institutions, companies and agri-food stakeholders. Envolées Gourmandes Academy, the first itinerant and hybrid school certified Qualiopi, trains professionals capable of cooking differently and creating value from their identity. Envoleesgourmandes.com remains an open space for resources and knowledge. Finally, Les Éco-Gastronomes, a private club dedicated to families and individuals, focuses on food waste reduction, fermentation and easing the mental load associated with daily meals.
Her work is regularly recognized by major distinctions: finalist of the Afro-Creole Entrepreneurs Trophy in 2017; Public Prize at Live Démo We Eat Africa and the Entrepreneuses Plurielles Coup de Cœur in 2018; recognition of Mon Imprécis de Cuisine at the Paris Fair in 2019 and at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in 2020; Grand Prix for Commitment to Africa in Rabat in 2024; the Culinary Education Prize in Brussels the same year; as well as an honorary award at the African Literatures Festival of Nantes.
Know-how and making it known
Guided by her motto — “Know-how and making it known” — Nathalie Brigaud Ngoum works to internationalize African and Afro-descendant culinary heritages while supporting professionals toward a more sustainable, more conscious form of food, deeply rooted in reality.
