Refugee Food Festival to unite communities

Global UN initiative set to come to Cape Town

FOOD Sweet Food, the UN Refugee Agency, is set to launch the third edition of the Refugee Food Festival in 14 cities around the world alongside citizens who dedicate their time to positively change public perceptions of refugees in their city.

Established in Paris in 2016, the Refugee Food Festival will for the first time be hosted in cities outside Europe, including Cape Town, New York and San Francisco and Paris.

The food festival will bring together refugee and host communities to showcase their diverse cooking talents.

The initiative aims to change public perceptions of refugees by bringing people together. Several aspiring chefs who participated in previous festivals have gone on to become professionals.

More than 100 Michelin-star restaurants in 14 cities will open their kitchens to refugee chefs to cook unique dishes around World Refugee Day.

Adan Ilmi, the UNHCR regional representation officer for southern Africa, described the refugee food festival as a novel idea, where citizens, local authorities, NGOs, restaurants, refugees and UNHCR “work together to help dispel myths around refugees. It also helps to facilitate their integration into communities,” he said.

Food Sweet Food and UNHCR have also helped refugee chefs meet restaurant owners and find jobs. “Mobilising civil society will contribute to welcoming refugees,” said agency president Louis Martin.

The agenda for each city will be available on the festival’s website and Facebook page. Some of the city’s restaurants that will host the event:

June 16: Oranjezicht City Farm Market – Ethiopian

June 18: Ginger & Lime – Vegetarian East African

June 19: Chefs’ Warehouse & Canteen – Angolan

June 21: The Power & The Glory – Palestinian and Jordanian

June 22: Thali – Bengali

June 23 : Ginger & Lime – Angolan and Congolese

June 23: Reverie Social Table – Angolan

June 24: Chefs’ Warehouse at Maison – Congolese