By Caora McKenna
After moving from Senegal to Canada, Fatou Sedore turned her passion for home-cooked meals into a thriving culinary business in the heart of Fredericton.
For Fatou Sedore, food isn’t just a business—it’s personal.
Born and raised in Somone, a coastal village in Senegal, Sedore first fell in love with cooking as a teenager. She remembers one of her earliest attempts at preparing a family meal when she was about 16 years old. Her father, unimpressed, jokingly told her it was ‘the kind of food you eat just to survive.’ Instead of feeling discouraged, she took it as a challenge.
She started cooking for the whole family and all the visitors, every day for a month.
She kept at it—refining her recipes, improving her technique, and listening to feedback. Eventually, even her brother’s friends came by just to eat her Mafé, a beloved Senegalese stew made with peanuts, tomato paste, onions, spices, and choice of protein.
“I did it—and I was proud of it,” she says.
Today, Sedore is winning over a whole new audience in Fredericton, New Brunswick, where she owns and operates Food By Fatou, a restaurant at 440 York Street. Her food is also available through catering services and at her booth at the city’s Garrison Night Market.
“I have a lot of zing,” she says. “And it’s very tasty!”
A Culinary Journey Across Continents
Sedore immigrated to Canada with her husband in 2009, first landing in Sutton, Ontario. Five years later, with two young children in tow, the family moved to Fredericton in search of opportunity and community.
That move turned out to be a perfect fit.
Her vibrant Senegalese dishes—like thieboudienne (a spiced rice and fish dish), spicy grilled chicken, fataya (fried pastry stuffed with meat or fish), and jollof rice—have found a loyal customer base in the city. Her son Elijah counts the jollof rice as his favourite.
Why? “It just tastes good,” he says.
And he’s not alone. Jollof rice and her Senegalese special rice are among her best-selling dishes.
“When you cook food,” Sedore explains, “you have to hit the flavour first.”
To get that perfect flavour, she insists on making as many ingredients from scratch as possible. That commitment to freshness doesn’t just enhance taste—it also helps her cater to customers with allergies or dietary restrictions. It can be a challenging process, but it’s part of doing what she loves to do.
In cooking, and in business, “I’ve learned to be patient,” she says.
A Market Stall Becomes a Restaurant
That patience paid off in 2023, when she transitioned from market vendor to restaurant owner.
Her Garrison Market neighbour was planning to leave her space on York Street and asked Sedore if she knew anyone interested in taking over.
“It was like destiny,” she says.
Food By Fatou officially opened its doors in March 2023, and the Fredericton community quickly embraced it.
But Sedore isn’t stopping there. Recently, she began selling her Bissap drinks—hibiscus-based beverages flavoured with mint or ginger—in local grocery stores. The drinks hold deep personal meaning for her. Back in Senegal, making Bissap with her mother was a cherished childhood tradition.
Rooted in Community
Though far from where she first learned to cook, Sedore says Fredericton feels like home. “Now I’ve made friends, met great people, and built a community,” she says.
And through her food, she’s building something else, too—a bridge between cultures, one bite at a time.
