Born from a citizens’ initiative, the Refugee Food Festival is an annual project allowing restaurant owners to open their kitchens to refugee chefs. The first Refugee Food Festival, founded by the Food Sweet Food charity with the support of the UN Agency for Refugees, took place in Paris in June 2016.
The annual festival and other year-long activities developed by Food Sweet Food
aim to accomplish 3 missions:
Perceptions around the welcoming of refugees and refugee status.
The integration of refugee chefs through training and a community of committed chefs and restaurant owners.
Civil society, and get citizens together around the dinner table, a universal place of peace and equality.
The Refugee Food Festival’s list of cities will be revealed in March !
CALENDAR
THE ANNUAL FESTIVAL
Every year, around 20th June (World Refugee Day), refugees, chefs and citizens come together to participate in the Refugee Food Festival. This gourmet event aims to foster socio-professional integration of refugees, change perceptions and unite citizens around the dinner table.
REFUGEE FOOD FESTIVAL’S YEAR-LONG PROGRAMS
In France, beyond the annual festival, we test and develop activities all year long to foster the socio-professional integration of the festival’s cooks: catering services, culinary events, cooking shows, cooking workshops, conferences and testimonials.
Through catering services and cooking events (cooking shows, workshops and cooking classes), the festival's chefs acquire new experiences and build their professional network.
First ever Parisian restaurant and training place dedicated to refugee cooks, La Résidence welcomes a new refugee chef to run its kitchen every 2 to 6 months. Located in the heart of Ground Control, Paris (12), it gives chefs the opportunity to work on their professional project, under the kind patronage of chefs Stéphane Jego (L'Ami Jean) and Mohammad Elkhaldy.
Sign up to keep track of upcoming events and to find out more about what we’re up to!
THE CHEFS WHO SUPPORT THE REFUGEE FOOD FESTIVAL
From neighbourhood canteens to Michelin-star restaurant, more than 200 chefs are involved in the Refugee Food Festival, and we thank them all enormously!
Stéphane Jégo (L’Ami Jean – Paris), Michel et César Troisgros (Maison Troisgros – Ouches), Olivier et Hugo Roellinger, Bertrand Grébaut (Septime et Clamato – Paris), Maxime Bonnabry-Duval (permanent executive chef Refettorio Paris), Walid Sahed (Les Pantins – Pantin), Chef Simon, Kamal Mouzawak (founder of Make Food Not War NGO), Antoine Westermann (Le Coq Rico – New York), Viviana Varese, Riccardo Ferrante, Juan & Lucia, Florent Ciccoli (Le Café du Coin – Paris), Hubert Vergoin (Substrat – Lyon), Hadrien Lavaud (Le Taquin – Bordeaux), Arthur Audibert (L’Alchimiste – Bordeaux) …
The Refugee Food Festival is a citizens’ initiative created by Food Sweet Food and supported by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
