FORM-Idea

What image does the word ‘migrant’ or ‘refugee’ conjure up in the minds of today’s society? People fleeing war torn countries like Syria, Ukraine or Afghanistan in desperate need of a safe haven? Overcrowded boats sinking in the Channel or the Mediterranean. Governments fighting over quotas of how many should be let in to each country? Ministers, whose own families migrated from Asia or the Middle East, determined to show their might in keeping numbers down by introducing stricter rules to keep ‘illegal’ immigrants out by threatening to send them to Rwanda?

Or does our hegemony evoke the picture of people with a wealth of culture, skills, languages and education offering the gift of themselves and all that they know to enrich our society in return for safety, a home and a job?

In 2016 Louis Martin and Marice Mandrila were inspired to create the ‘Refugee Food Festival’ as a way of addressing the negative images and experiences affecting migrants. They believed, after travelling around 18 countries, that food can be used to promote peace, integration and emancipation.  Since then, every year, World Refugee Day [20^th of June], restaurants throughout France open their kitchens to migrant chefs, allowing customers to sample dishes from countries whose cuisine they may not normally taste. This year the festival is show-casing chefs from 29 countries across 13 cities throughout France and in Geneva. It is extremely well organized by a group of young, passionate people who ensure that both the chefs and the customers have a positive experience of the highest standards. The migrants are celebrated for the gifts they have to offer, not treated as victims unable to fend for themselves. Through the festival I met some very strong women from Africa who, as single mothers, have started their own businesses and are to be admired and applauded for their resilience. They have no desire to leech off Western society, they want to work, have proven their entrepreneurial skills and could serve as inspirational role models for all of us.

Many of the restaurants work with the refugee chef to create a fusion menu resulting in something unique, exciting and new. We tried the Franco-Nigerian lunch at Michelin star ‘Reflect D’Obione’ in Montpellier. Chef Laurent Cherchi worked together with Adebola Adewuye to create a fine-dining menu using local ingredients with a Nigerian twist. We started with Bissap, a special fruit cocktail created by Adebola using Nigerian fruit. We sampled fried plantain with harissa sauce, lentil balls and a truly divine black sesame humous that I would love to have the recipe for. This was followed by a second starter of Avocado, Luberon ginger and cucumber with a coriander sauce and secret spices that Adebola put together.  There were two small main courses, the first of Haricot, millet, mung sprouts and courgetti in a bouillon infused with smoked eel. The second was fried gray mullet with a pepper and tomato jus and prawn fried rice. There was a mango and parsley sorbet to freshen the pallet culminating in a final dish of coconut ice-cream with nutmeg crunch, which was divine. The menu was fun, unique and certainly worthy of a Michelin starred restaurant. Adebola worked in a restaurant in Sicily for a year after leaving Nigeria and is now looking for work in France. She is planning to do an apprenticeship in cooking and hopes to open her own restaurant one day. I have every confidence that she will succeed and bring a great gift to any restaurant she works at.

The Food Festival also offers cooking workshops for those who are interested in learning how to recreate some of the dishes they may have enjoyed. Bordeaux hosted a Tajik workshop at the beginning of the month and there is a Syrian cooking workshop in Marseille on the 25^th.

For full details of the Food Festival schedule and other events visit: https://festival.refugee-food.org/