Meet Yipin

Yipin was born in the small town of Silly in Burkina Faso. Her father was a teacher who would move to a new school, and thus a new town, every couple of years. Yipin and her seven siblings followed him from town to town, growing up across Burkina Faso and getting to know many regions of this West African country. 

As a young girl, Yipin loved to help her mother and older sisters in the kitchen, and was eager to learn how to build the cooking fire in the yard and contribute to different Burkinabé recipes. At seven years old, she became responsible for one of the family’s signature dishes: Tô, a cornmeal-based dough ball often dipped in sauces or soups. 

In 2010, Yipin moved to New York City where, after working a variety of part-time jobs, she went on to get a Masters degree and become a full-time accountant. Today, she lives with her husband and three young children in the Bronx. 

Yipin is passionate about food; both cooking and eating it! She loves to make West African cuisine for her friends and family, as well as try her hand at new cuisines she's discovered since moving to NYC. Yipin also loves to teach her West African friends now living in New York how to recreate the food from their home countries with ingredients they are able to find in the city. She’s excited to share her family recipes through workshops with the League of Kitchens!