British immigrant cookery school offers recipes for integration

In the open-plan kitchen, a cheerful cacophony of chatter, chopping vegetables, the clanging of pots and pans and the sizzle of vegetables dipping in boiling oil fills the air, while Nagy and Sanovar are on hand to offer guidance and help.

Traditional Middle Eastern music is played throughout the class, and at the end of the three-hour lesson, students and teachers sit together to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

For Najee, an artist who fled Afghanistan when the Taliban took power in 2021, cooking and sharing meals with strangers creates a sense of camaraderie that brings people closer.

“Cooking together and sharing a meal creates connections. When you eat together you learn something from people. You learn about their culture, what they do in life. You learn from them too,” he told AFP.

Najee arrived in the UK in June 2022 after a perilous journey that took almost nine months, passing through Iran, Turkey, Greece and France, sleeping under bridges and in train stations.

He initially stayed in British government accommodation in south London, but was unable to work or study and struggled to share accommodation with strangers.

“I was very depressed for the first few months. I often locked myself in my room,” he said.

But after joining Migrantful, a charity that primarily works with refugees and immigrants, his lifestyle changed and his depression was lifted.

“I was really touched. Everyone was so nice,” he said, while admitting he was nervous at first.

He knew he had a talent for cooking ever since he was a teenager and friends would invite him to cook for them, but now he’s training “like a pro.”

He received refugee status in September 2023 and is no longer prohibited from working, meaning he can now earn an income by giving classes and catering to private homes.

For Nagy, who did not want to give his full name, cooking has become a creative outlet.

“Food not only has to taste good, it has to look good too,” he said.

Sanovar Majidova left her native Uzbekistan for the UK in 2019 to give her children a better education, and lockdown began a year after she arrived.

“My English skills were zero. I was sitting at home with my four children and it was a tough time,” she said.

Every day she would search the internet for new recipes to please her children.

After hearing about Migrateful through a friend, she realized she could turn her passion for cooking into a job.

Now, what she enjoys most is teaching others how to make pilaf, a traditional rice dish designated “king of meals” by UNESCO, a World Heritage Site in 2016.

“We help migrants who come to the UK and are struggling to integrate, who are not confident in their English or who are barred from working legally,” Migrantful founder Jess Thompson said.

“So far, people from about 38 countries have visited and enjoyed a lot of exciting food.”

The main nationalities they assist are forcibly displaced people from countries in the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America.

“They feel socially isolated when they come to this country, so Migrateful provides them with a safe haven.”

“They have a community. They feel they have something to contribute to their country and it boosts their confidence and self-esteem. They feel valued and celebrated.”

Many of their chefs go on to get full-time jobs in restaurants or run their own catering businesses.

For Thompson, Migrateful provides an opportunity for host communities to meet refugees and change negative attitudes towards migration.

“When you meet them, have meaningful interactions with them, share food with them, you start to see them as fellow human beings and they no longer pose a threat.

“Migration will always be a part of our lives, so we need to find ways to celebrate it and make it a positive thing for society.”

“London would not exist without the contributions of immigrants.”

video/phz/gil