Despite being born in Liberia and spending part of her childhood there, Georgia Tech graduate and Atlanta fashion designer Archel Bernard grew up regularly eating Ethiopian food. The two countries are on opposite sides of the African continent, with Liberia located along the Atlantic Coast and Ethiopia more than 4,700 miles away to the east.
Her parents came to Georgia as refugees when she was a teenager. But after finishing her college degree, Bernard moved back to her native Liberia to start a business.
In 2019, Bernard returned to Georgia and rediscovered her love for Ethiopian food. She’s now a regular at Desta Ethiopian Kitchen, the Clairmont Road restaurant owned by Ethiopian-born couple Ash Nega and Titi Demissie. Since opening in 2006, Desta has become one of Atlanta’s go-to destinations for Ethiopian food.
“It’s fun, it’s made to share,” said Bernard of the East African cuisine, known for flavorful curries (wot), fragrant meat tibs, and injera, a spongy fermented flatbread used for scooping and dipping food.
On a warm Monday evening in May, Bernard gathered with family and co-workers on the cozy patio at Desta to share large platters of lamb and salmon tibs with awaze (spicy pepper sauce), vegetables, and miser (red lentils).
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