Tenagne Belachew

The Path

Chef and owner is the current frame for Tenagne Belachew at Lalibela. The role joins kitchen leadership with the broader task of setting a restaurant’s terms of welcome, especially in Los Angeles, where a defined culinary language has to hold its ground amid constant reinvention. Belachew continues to shape that language at Lalibela through care, discipline, and memory.

The Work Today

As chef/owner, Belachew leads Lalibela’s food and identity. The job is practical and exacting: setting the tone of the restaurant, stewarding the dishes, and keeping the place aligned with its purpose in service. That kind of work depends on consistency and judgment, with each detail carrying weight in how the room functions night after night.

Signature

Tenagne's signature dishes include doro wot and bozena shiro. Together, they locate the core of her cooking: two dishes that give regulars a point of return and offer first-time diners a clear read on the kitchen’s point of view. At Lalibela, these plates anchor the restaurant’s identity as much as any other part of the menu.

In Their Words “I wanted with my restaurant to take people on a journey to Ethiopia through food.” That statement places the restaurant in the register of transmission: a meal used to carry culinary tradition across a table and into a dining room. “I am grateful for what I have accomplished here.” Gratitude here reads as recognition of the work required to build and hold a restaurant together, where technique, taste, and persistence have to stay aligned.