January 26th, 2024
Picture the scene: you’re uninspired on a Wednesday night – wondering what to make for dinner. You crack a recipe book at a random page and do your best to fashion something edible for your loved ones. It’s good… but there’s always that thought in the back of your mind, “I wonder what someone from the country that invented the dish would do differently.”
Lucky, then, that there’s a non-profit business, Migrateful, whose sole offering is cooking lessons taught by people born all around the globe. No exploitation, just a commitment to uplifting one another, providing opportunities to teachers, experiences to customers and a banging plate of food for everyone. You can even see the exact breakdown of where the fees go on their website. Their point of difference? Their cooking teachers are all either migrants or refugees.
Modern Britain is a glorious tapestry woven together from colours, cultures and creeds from across the world. If you’re a native Brit, have you ever wondered how difficult it might be to arrive somewhere totally different to your usual surroundings? An unfamiliar environment, a language that might well not be your native tongue, a brand-new culture to try to navigate. Not to mention the difficulties that come part and parcel when trying to find a job…
Thankfully, Migrateful’s mission is to address these woes – to “help refugees and vulnerable migrants on their journey to employment and independence and promote integration.” Currently based in London, Bristol and Kent, Migrateful offers near-daily cooking classes taught by people from the cultures that created the cuisines. To date they’ve educated and facilitated lessons from individuals born in over 30 different countries – from Algeria to Venezuela and a whole host of places in between.
Whether you choose to jump on a Zoom, head to a church, chef up from a community kitchen, book them to cater a corporate shindig or, on occasion, head directly into someone’s home, the experience is as enlightening for the patron as it is empowering for the teacher.
Everyone gets stuck in together to create a banquet of sorts, learning the preparation processes, cultures and customs as you go. Then, once everything’s ready, the group sits together to feast on the mouthwatering meals you’ve created together. As a cherry on top, the recipes from that day are sent to you afterwards so you can dazzle your dearest pals with your new found knack for nosh.
Started by Jess Thompson in 2017, Migrateful was born from a desire to assist, support and empower migrants and refugees. Jess spent time in refugee camps in Morocco and Dunkirk, before returning to the UK where she enrolled on a course called The Year Here Fellowship.
One part of her role was to teach English to a group of refugee women – one week she suggested they bring in a recipe from their home. “They were really passionate, telling me about their favourite dish,” Jess says, “that was the moment I thought this is a skill that they all have, most of them were unemployed because of language barriers and because their qualifications don’t count in the UK. It was a way to get them into work.”
Beginning with a pilot programme from Jess’s house, the business has since developed to the point where, at the time of writing (October 2022), they’ve now taught over 30,000 people and hosted almost 3,000 cookery lessons – whilst training over 100 refugees to become class teachers.
They practise public speaking, storytelling and host English language confidence building workshops. It provides the fledgling teachers with a community where they feel valued and offers a situation where they’re in control. All Migrateful chefs go through a 12-week programme that teaches them how to lead a class, develop their recipes and practise food hygiene. There are regular chef training classes provided to improve their skills. Plus, the chefs get references written for them, increasing the likelihood of them gaining future employment.
What about the chefs themselves, what do they have to say? Here’s one uplifting account from 73 year old Dolores Sardinas:
Their work also helps to raise awareness surrounding migration issues as their audience reaches beyond the “usual suspects” (their quote) of people who are already motivated to support refugees. As Jess says, “the migrant population has doubled in the past 20 years and there haven’t been many initiatives which facilitate the mixing of different ethnic groups and that’s why we have a build-up of racism and ignorance… So the more we get people to mix, the happier society will be.”
What started with an English lesson for 10 refugee women has since blossomed into an enterprising non-profit business that operates from multiple cities that has changed many lives and filled many more bellies. Migrateful focuses on the principle of exchange – the patrons all get stuck in to create something remarkable that would otherwise be out of their wheelhouse if they were to cook alone, reading from a dust-covered recipe book.
With so many wholesome, altruistic facets to their business, Migrateful is the embodiment of a responsible brand. Their work illustrates just how much impact a group of like-minded individuals can have on society, whilst simultaneously providing a service that’s as valuable as it is empowering.
Written by Jonathon Bartlett, Content Manager, NOKAMO.
DISCLAIMER: We endeavour to always credit the correct original source of every image, however if you think a credit may be incorrect, please contact us at rb@hatchedlondon.com.
