There is a food festival celebrating talented Refugee Chefs coming to Cape Town and you’re invited to share in the flavours and stories of these incredible cooks.
It’s a citizen-led project aimed at raising awareness around challenges faced by refugees; to celebrate cultural diversity through food.
They call is the Refugee Food Festival, we welcome it with open arms.
It all started with an idea from two citizens, founders of the Food Sweet Food association, convinced (rightly so) that food is a universal way to communicate and a spectacular tool that holds the power to bring together and unite different cultures.
The idea was to create collaborations between professionals from the food industry who happened to be refugees and host-restaurants: through four-handed menus or cartes blanches. Partner restaurants enhance their menus for a few services thanks to dishes co- created by duos of chefs.
“In June 2016, in Paris, 11 restaurants and 8 refugee chefs took part in the project. It was the beginning of a great adventure: people meet, culinary collaborations give rise to unseen dishes, hundreds of clients rush to book the restaurants, and the refugee chefs find a sense of dignity in their new home.
A few weeks later… dozens of citizens got in touch with the project’s founders to bring the Refugee Food Festival to their cities and thus the Refugee Food Festival was born.”
The Refugee Food Festival is a culinary project which, thanks to the universal power of food, aims to accomplish three missions:
- Change people’s perception of refugees by highlighting the talents and culinary heritage of refugee chefs from all over the world.
- Accelerate professional insertion with the help of a committed community of restaurant owners and the support of civil society.
- Mobilize civil society at the dinner table, universal place of inter-cultural exchanges, through the discovery of the best world cuisines.
More than 100 restaurants throughout Europe participated last year and this year, the project is going international with the inclusion of Cape Town being the first African city to host the event!
For its 3rd edition, the Refugee Food Festival opens its doors to the US, Canada and South Africa and federates even more citizens, closely guided by the founding members and local UNHCR offices, to keep on developing the project, from Montreal to Cape Town, from London to Bologna, going through Brussels or else Paris.
And these are the stories that matter. Talented Chefs who have found refuge in South Africa share their incredible food and amazing stories during this special festival.
Patrick is a young, ambitious and creative chef, originally from Angola. In 1996, Patrick and his family fled their home country due to the Angolan Civil War, which plagued the country for over 26 years. Initially a refugee in South Africa, Patrick has since obtained permanent residency.
Patrick’s culinary repertoire began at home. Since he was young, he has been fascinated by food, and would mindfully observe his mother cooking up a storm in the kitchen and attempt to copy what she made.
He started his career in the food industry directly after high school, securing an apprenticeship at a notable hotel restaurant in Cape Town. Since completing his apprenticeship, he moved on to another reputable restaurant where he is currently working. Aside from his love for the culinary arts, Patrick is passionate about hip hop dance and youth empowerment. For the festival, he plans to create a menu that draws inspiration from his country of origin, Angola.
Judy is an amazing chef coming all the way from Eritrea. After having to leave her home country due to the obligatory military service, she eventually arrived in Cape Town in 2004. In South Africa, she met her husband, gave birth to her two boys and got refugee status.
As a little girl, she used to watch her mom cook and developed a love for food over the years. A few years ago, she started her own business in a famous market that unfortunately had to close down. Now, Judy dreams about the day she will be able to open her own restaurant!
David is a Congolese chef coming all the way from Lubumbashi, DRC. He left the DRC 4 years ago due to conflicts in the region leading him to want to start a new life.
He has always been a big food lover and, as a child, was in his mom’s kitchen waiting for the food to be ready as soon as he was awake. However, his passion for cooking only started recently, when he arrived in Cape Town.
He started working for a restaurant and got trained by the head chef for about a year and a half. When he realized how much he liked cooking, he decided to study and graduated last year. He has since been working for a local restaurant and he absolutely loves the creativity that he can put in his food!
Milka and Mamie are a dynamic duo of bakers from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Milka moved to South Africa about 15 years ago with her mother and siblings, fleeing a devastating war back home. The Democratic Republic of Congo is slowly recovering from a conflict known as Africa’s first world war, which led to the loss of some five million lives between 1994 and 2003.
Milka’s culinary career flourished during a training and baking programme hosted by a job centre in Cape Town, where she developed and refined her culinary techniques. She received further training in artistic cake decorating through a course mediated by the Scalabrini Centre. Milka extended her skills at a food establishment in Cape Town but described her interactions and integration with her local colleagues as challenging. Soon after leaving the job, she established a small business. She was soon joined by her friend Mamie, whom she met at the Scalabrini Centre.
Mamie moved to South Africa in 2014 with her husband and 4 boys. Through great strive and difficulty, Mamie and her family moved to Pretoria to apply for refugee status, which they have since been granted. Thereafter they moved to George and finally found their home in the mother city, Cape Town, where they have resided since 2015. Mamie runs a small business where she bakes delectable goods to sell to the neighbourhood informal stalls (known as tuckshops).
Milka and Mamie often come together to bake for illustrious events such as weddings and birthdays – all from Milka’s fanciful kitchen. Despite limited resources, the two friends’ dedication keeps them going. Mamie and Milka will take part in a corporate event for the Refugee Food Festival – we will be posting pictures of their beautiful creations and details on how to order their baked goods!
These are the stories of just a few of the amazing chefs that will be showcasing their talents. There are over 15 amazing chefs and 10 restaurants on board in the Mother City, here’s all you need to know:
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