海角大神

Mohammad el-Khaldy puts the finishing touches on a plate of with lentils and spinach 鈥� one of the eight courses he鈥檚 prepared for guests at L鈥橝mi Jean restaurant as part of Paris鈥檚 Refugee Food Festival.

Just a few years ago, as the chef traveled the common migration route from Syria to Turkey, then to Italy by boat and on to Paris, Mr. Khaldy never could have imagined he鈥檇 be using his cooking skills again.

鈥淒uring my travels, of course I missed cooking,鈥� says Khaldy. 鈥淚 tried to catch fish on the boat going to Italy. But it wasn鈥檛 until I was back in a restaurant that I felt alive.鈥�

Last week鈥檚 Refugee Food Festival saw a handful of Paris-based restaurants open their kitchens to visiting refugee chefs from Cote d鈥橧voire, Iran, Sri Lanka, Syria, and Chechnya. It is one of a number of initiatives in Europe and the US to provide a space for refugees to not only use their existing skills and connect with local communities, but to allow local populations to gain a positive view of the people within Europe鈥檚 refugee crisis.

鈥淚n France we have a certain image of refugees that is filled with misery, but that鈥檚 not all that exists,鈥� says St茅phane Jego, owner and head chef of L鈥橝mi Jean. 鈥淲e need to put a face behind these images 鈥� there are so many people like Mohammad who had to flee their homes but thanks to their skills, they鈥檙e going to make it.鈥�

'The power of food'

As Europe attempts to handle its worst migration crisis since World War II, a key challenge for local governments has been how to integrate newcomers. With many countries struggling with unemployment and lack of housing, the flood of refugees has put a strain on existing resources.

And even when basic needs like housing and working papers are met, many refugees find full integration impossible due to a lack of local language skills or degrees that don鈥檛 transfer, says Catherine Wihtol de Wenden, a sociologist at Sciences Po in Paris.

鈥淏ut being able to use their skills and competencies is really the key to succeeding,鈥� she adds. 鈥淔or those who are not able to integrate professionally, there is very little possibility of general integration.鈥�

That was ultimately the idea behind the Refugee Food Festival, says co-founder Louis Martin, who got the idea for the festival after cooking his way around the world with his girlfriend.

鈥淲e realized the power of food to connect people and get past language barriers,鈥� says Mr. Martin. 鈥淚t鈥檚 able to fortify relationships and it鈥檚 extremely uniting. These refugees come with their own unique skill set and many with a culinary expertise.鈥�

'Refugees helping us'

The Refugee Food Festival is just one of many initiatives working to use the power of cooking to bridge communities. The recently launched French nongovernmental organization Le Recho plans to bring cooking classes to Europe鈥檚 refugee camps, incorporating volunteer refugee chefs. And for the past two years, the NGO Give Something Back to Berlin has organized weekly cooking events to build connections between refugees and host communities.

They鈥檝e built on more experienced initiatives like the New York-based Eat Offbeat, which has been serving up meals-to-go since 2013, prepared by refugees from Syria, Iraq, Eritrea, and Nepal.

Eat Offbeat co-founder and CEO Manal Kahi says that many of their customers initially come to them because they want to do something to help with the world refugee crisis, but they keep coming back because the food is so delicious. In the end, says Ms. Kahi, the culinary experience ends up bringing as much to the host community as to the refugee chefs.

鈥淔ood is the international language,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e think of it as not only helping refugees but refugees helping us.鈥�

For Khaldy, the Refugee Food Festival is only the tip of the iceberg. He recently prepared a meal for 500 people at Paris鈥檚 Hotel de Ville, adding Mayor Anne Hidalgo to his list of fans. And at the end of the month, he鈥檒l open Syrian restaurant Fatooch in central Paris. Food and cooking have been the key, he says, to moving toward integrating fully into his new Parisian life.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a window into Paris, into the culture,鈥� he says. 鈥淪ince I started cooking again, I feel different. I鈥檓 meeting people and making friends. I realize I still have the power to do something for my family and my culture.鈥�