Pop-up restaurant tries to wage peace through food

Alert, will serve traditional dishes from Lebanon and Sri Lanka at communal tables at the House of Vans venue in the arches under Waterloo.

The restaurant will be open for a fortnight from Thursday, September 22, when chef Imad Ghossain will oversee the Lebanese cooking, concluding with a Sunday brunch prepared by staff from Marylebone restaurant Lazeez Lebanese Tapas and chef Michael Sallaum.

The following week will feature four days of dishes from Sri Lanka, where the government is attempting to achieve peace after decades of civil war, and end with Sunday brunch prepared by Ruby Kughanathan of Papi’s Pickles.

The café, in its third year after successful runs in Hoxton in 2014 and Waterloo last year, is part of a Talking Peace Festival organised by International Alert.

The charity was set up by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and others 30 years ago in an attempt to end to some of the world’s most bitter disputes. The aim is to use food to reconcile differences by encouraging people of different backgrounds to enjoy meals together.

Rebecca Crozier, of International Alert, said: “Food has the power to bring people together and encourage the act of sharing.

“In some Middle Eastern countries, it is custom for the perpetrator of a crime to cook a meal for the victim and their family as a way of fixing broken bonds.

“In Europe, too, we find ways of using food to calm domestic storms, to unite communities and bring neighbourhoods together.

“We hope Conflict Café will give diners a glimpse into the diverse cuisines and complex histories of some of the countries where we work, highlighting the positive role that food can play in peacebuilding.”