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If you have been following Local Culture for a while, Chef Nyanyika Banda may already look familiar.
Last summer, she was one of the featured chefs in our brunch series in Sandwich, bringing her food and perspective to the table alongside some of the chefs we wanted our community to know.
And now, Martha’s Daughter is popping up again on Cape Cod, this time with a seasonal residency of sorts at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod in South Yarmouth.
And yes, I am excited.
Partly because I love seeing chefs create experiences outside of the traditional restaurant model.
And partly because I have had Chef Nyanyika’s dumplings before and they are so, so yummy.
Seriously.
So, Who Is Chef Nyanyika Banda?
Chef Nyanyika Banda is a Malawian-American chef, writer, culinary historian and educator whose work sits right at the intersection of food, history and culture.
She trained professionally in culinary arts, worked in acclaimed kitchens including WD-50 and the Saveur test kitchen, and later studied African foodways while attending the University of Wisconsin-Superior. It was during that period that she began an underground pop-up called Martha’s Daughter, which eventually became a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Duluth, Minnesota. The restaurant earned a following and received an Eater Award in 2018.
That history makes the name Martha’s Daughter especially fitting for what she continues to do now.
This is food built around memory, curiosity, community and storytelling.
And Then There Is Wakanda
Chef Nyanyika is also the author of Marvel’s Black Panther: The Official Wakanda Cookbook, released in 2022.
The book includes more than 70 recipes inspired by Wakanda and culinary traditions from across the African continent, including dishes such as roasted chambo, braised oxtail and dumplings, street foods, desserts and drinks.
What makes the cookbook interesting is that she had to take a fictional place and build a food world around it while grounding that food in real African traditions.
As someone whose work is already deeply connected to African and African Diaspora foodways, Chef Nyanyika was able to use the cookbook as another form of storytelling.
And honestly, that is what I enjoy most about her work.
There is always something happening beyond the plate.
I Have Had the Dumplings. Trust Me.
My first introduction to Chef Nyanyika’s food was not through a Marvel cookbook.
It was through the food itself.
I have had her dumplings, and I am telling you now: they are so, so good.
I also attended one of her ramen and dumpling pop-ups at Bread & Roses in Hyannis, so when I saw ramen and dumplings appearing again as part of the Martha’s Daughter programming on Cape Cod, I immediately paid attention.
Her ramen and dumpling workshop at the Cultural Center in August taught participants how to build a flavorful broth, make and fold dumplings, balance seasoning and create vegetarian and vegan variations.
If you missed that one, don’t worry. There is more coming.
Martha’s Daughter Is Popping Up on Mondays This September
The current September schedule brings Martha’s Daughter on Mondays to the Cultural Center of Cape Cod on September 14, 21 and 28 from 4 to 7 p.m.
This month’s menu is expected to lean heavily into tacos, along with small plates, dinner specials, bowls, boxes, farmstand sides and something sweet.
Prices are currently listed between $11 and $30, and the pop-up is counter service, so you can grab dinner to go or sit and eat at the Center.
And this is one of the things I love about pop-ups.
You don’t always need a big elaborate dinner reservation. Sometimes you want to walk in, order something interesting from a chef you may not normally have access to, sit outside for a little while and discover something new.
That is exactly what this kind of programming allows us to do.
You Can Learn From Her Too
Chef Nyanyika is not simply serving food at the Cultural Center.
She is also teaching.
The current schedule includes a Culinary Foundations Workshop on September 16, giving people another opportunity to get into the kitchen and learn directly from her.
And that is another part of Chef Nyanyika’s work that deserves attention.
She is an educator as much as she is a chef. Food becomes a way to talk about history, culture, technique, migration, family and all of the things that eventually make their way onto our plates.
Then September Ends With Dinner
On September 24, the current Cape Cod Museum Trail listing shows Martha’s Daughter: Between Sea & Orchard, a four-course dinner built around that little moment on Cape Cod when summer is starting to slip into fall.
Think Cape seafood, orchard fruit, root vegetables, greens and New England flavors.
The listed menu includes New England corn chowder, an autumn farm salad, potato chip-crusted local fish and apple cider donut bread pudding.
That last one alone got my attention.
Why We’re Paying Attention
Chef Nyanyika is exactly the kind of chef we want to keep highlighting through Local Culture.
Her food travels.
It moves through Malawi, New England, the African Diaspora, ramen shops, dumpling traditions, Marvel’s Wakanda, Cape Cod seafood and whatever is growing at the farmstand that week.
But somehow it still feels connected.
That is culture.
Last summer, we welcomed her into our own brunch series in Sandwich.
Since then, I have eaten her dumplings, made my way to her ramen and dumpling pop-up in Hyannis, and now Martha’s Daughter is creating another place for people to gather around food in South Yarmouth.
So if you have been looking for an excuse to try something different this September, this might be it.
Go for the pop-up.
Take a class.
Sit down for dinner.
And if the dumplings show up on the menu again?
Get the dumplings.
You can thank me later.
Martha’s Daughter at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod
Where: Cultural Center of Cape Cod, 307 Old Main Street, South Yarmouth
Martha’s Daughter on Mondays: September 14, 21 & 28, 4–7 p.m.
Culinary Foundations Workshop: September 16
Between Sea & Orchard Dinner: September 24, 6–8 p.m.
Event details and menus can change, so check the Cultural Center’s current listings before heading out.
Check out her Instagram: _marthasdaughter_