Around The World in One Kitchen
THE HOPE CENTER WELCOMES THE COMMUNITY TO A NEW KIND OF FOOD EXPERIENCE - SUPPORTING REFUGEES AS THEY REALIZE THEIR CULINARY DREAMS.
For years, Building Hope in the City has been dedicated to providing holistic care and support to refugees in the Cleveland area. From providing employment assistance to offering educational and cultural enrichment programs, The Hope Center (THC) has been striving to fulfill a mission of helping refugees move from surviving to thriving. Those efforts took on a whole new flavor (literally!) with THC’s latest initiative, One World Kitchen (OWK).
“Nothing brings people together like food and nothing communicates a culture’s richness and joy than what it puts on the family dinner plate,” says Dr. Becky O’Donnell, Director of Refugee and Immigrant Ministries. One World Kitchen showcases that fact by creating opportunities for refugees to share food and meals from their culture with others while also providing supportive opportunities for them to learn kitchen management skills and earn needed income as an aspiring caterer. THC’s recent installation of a commercial kitchen as part of BHITC’s FLOURISH campaign has put OWK on the map as a must-taste experience for guests. For several months this fall, OWK launched as a pilot effort. The cafe at THC was packed on three different nights with 50+ guests who paid to enjoy a meal representing various refugee cultures and cuisines.
In order to experience the whole world in one kitchen, some Hope Center supporters, like Debi Albrecht, Alumni Director at Lutheran West, made it a point to register for all three dinners we hosted this year, “As soon as I read about One World Kitchen, I went online and registered for all three dinners. My husband and I love to travel to discover a country's people, their language and their cuisine. This was a great opportunity to experience those things right here in Cleveland while supporting refugee entrepreneurs,” Albrecht shared. Her love for travel goes beyond a plane ticket and a week away, she aims to immerse herself in a new culture. She never thought she could do this right in Cleveland, until the start of OWK.
Many of these meals allow guests to taste foods that they may have not be introduced to in any other setting. “Each dinner introduced us to a person's heritage and family traditions. We tasted different dishes and familiarized ourselves with new spices. The entire experience was professionally delivered. It felt as though we were in a restaurant. I loved that we were not rushed but enjoyed each course as well as conversations with other guests,” Albrecht said as she reminisced on the connections made over the delicious plates of food with unfamiliar flavors.
THC’s staff hopes that the personal connections created by OWK also create greater appreciation for and understanding of immigrants among those who attend. “These meals have the potential to really expose Clevelanders to their international neighbors in new ways,” says Jewel Yokie, THC’s Career Development and Help Desk Manager, whose family are originally from Liberia.
The Yokies were also recently featured at a OWK event that highlighted Liberian cuisine. “There are so many people who may be living right next door to an immigrant or a refugee and I think there is a lack of exposure to those stories and those connections. Food brings everyone to the table. It’s a universal love language and allows people of different backgrounds to gather and share a meal.”
But one of our primary goals for OWK is to empower our refugee and immigrant neighbors. Dr. O’Donnell reports that since the launch of OWK, an increasing number of refugees have expressed interest in participating in OWK and the opportunity to learn kitchen and food management skills. Others have found OWK a fond reminder of home.
“We had a gentleman attend OWK who was from Somalia and he came to One World Kitchen because there was a Somalian cater being featured that night,” said O’Donnell. “He had no previous connection to Building Hope, but said he tasted and felt a connection to home for the first time in so long while with us.” In the kitchen that same night was Kifaya, an immigrant woman and former restaurant owner who said she felt like she was cooking for family even though she knew no one in attendance that night.
“It is more than just a plate of food, it is a connection to home and family,” says O’Donnell. “For so many of us, food is how we show love and at One World Kitchen, many of the meals they make are ones they have made with their friends and family in their home countries, so it is like they are opening their hearts to new friends and family. When they come out of the kitchen and everyone gets to look at them, they are getting to be seen the way Jesus sees them.”
In times like these where tensions and divisions seem to be on the rise, let us not forget the words of the Apostle Paul in Galatians 3:28, "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." THC and OWK demonstrate to those around us that residing in every person – and especially in their diversity – is the image of God, waiting to be discovered and celebrated.
The new year will bring future OWK events featuring aspiring yet more refugee caterers and entrepreneurs that THC can’t wait for you to meet. Watch for those details in the coming months and grab your tickets early!
OWK would be blessed to have a small crew of committed volunteers for each month for its events. If this opportunity interests you, contact David Van Hal at david@buildinghopeinthecity.org.
