Language is one of the biggest barriers refugees face when resettling in a new country; securing work is another. But a new D.C. event is helping refugees and asylum-seekers overcome both of these challenges 鈥� one plate at a time.
June 17 through 22, chefs at five popular D.C. restaurants will hand over the reigns, and their kitchens, to refugee chefs working to reestablish their careers in the U.S. On rotating nights, the menus at Maydan, A Rake鈥檚 Progress, Espita Mezcaleria and Little Sesame will be rewritten to showcase cuisines from Syria, El Salvador, Afghanistan and South Sudan; Uyghur food will be highlighted at Himitsu.
鈥淔inding a job here has been a little difficult for some refugees and asylum-seekers, but this event is really cool because you don鈥檛 need to know exactly what to say at every given point in the day. You just need to know how to cook and know your craft,鈥� said Sara Abdel-Rahim, who along with Sam Sgroi, co-founded the event and organization, .
Both Abdel-Rahim and Sgroi have previous experience working with refugees. They said launching this dinner series is one way to build a local community to support those who have been displaced from other regions.
鈥淔ood is an amazing medium because food speaks for itself. So being able to give people a platform to just cook and give people an opportunity to try food they wouldn鈥檛 normally try is the best way to overcoming that barrier and helping people showcase their skills in a way that they wouldn鈥檛 otherwise be given the opportunity to,鈥� Abdel-Rahim added.
When Nejat Ahmadollah came to the U.S. from Afghanistan in 2014, he arrived with his wife, two children and several years of professional cooking experience. Ahmadollah resettled in the D.C. area and found work as a caterer and private-event chef. His dream, however, is to open his own restaurant where we can cook traditional Afghan food.
鈥淎fghan is a rich culture [for] food,鈥� Ahmadollah said. 鈥淧eople, they don鈥檛 really know about authentic Afghan food.鈥�
On June 21, Ahmadollah will join the chefs at Maydan and prepare classic Afghan plates, including his signature dish, kabuli, made with rice, carrots, raisins and meats. Roasted pumpkin with yogurt and mint is another favorite of his to cook.
鈥淚 think people in the D.C. area think of Afghan food as just grilled meats and kabob-centric, but there鈥檚 so much more unique flavors and richness to that,鈥� said Abdel-Rahim, who worked with Sgroi to find the refugee and asylum-seeker chefs through various community networks.
鈥淚f every person in D.C. has an opportunity to try Afghan food for what Nejat presented to us, this will be the luckiest city in the world, I think.鈥�
Restaurants participating in Tables Without Borders will donate a portion of each night鈥檚 proceeds to , a nonprofit that provides aid and assistance to refugees. Several of the event鈥檚 evenings are sold out, but .
If you can鈥檛 score a seat to this first round of dinners from Tables Without Borders, there鈥檚 no need to worry: The organization鈥檚 founders said they are “looking to have an impact long-term.”聽
鈥淪o one of the purposes of this project, and also what we鈥檙e hoping to do going forward, is to extend that time and help people have some income in that time where they鈥檙e resettling and getting acquainted to a new life and a new home,鈥� Abdel-Rahim said.
Referencing the willingness of D.C.’s top restaurants to sign on for the refugee-led dinners, she added, “I think the sky鈥檚 the limit moving forward for this event.”
