Jess Thompson

We invite you to explore the lives of six Migrateful chefs, seeking refuge in Britain Migrateful exists to empower and celebrate refugees and vulnerable migrants on their journey to integration by supporting them to run their own cookery classes.  To mark Refugee Week some of our chefs would like to share their stories with you. These stories are at times not easy to read, some involving torture, shootings and emotional distress (trigger warning). Read more…

Elahe is delighted to have now taught the ‘mother cuisine’ to 600 adoring Londoners alongside her daughter Parastoo With 2500 years of saffron and rosewater scented history, Iranian cuisine has influenced cooking all over the globe – earning its reputation as the ‘mother cuisine’. Those who have attended Elahe and Read more…

Ahmed was shot during the war in Lebanon and will now use a wheelchair for life. He shares with us why he will never give up. Ahmed asked me, “What are you most scared of?” It was not a question I had thought about before. Finally I replied ‘I’m scared Read more…

Nigerian chef Elizabeth left behind a successful career in Nigeria to come to the UK to be with her sisters after her mother died. She found herself waiting for 8 years as an illegal immigrant unable to work or receive benefits “My name is Elizabeth and I am from Nigeria. Read more…

Majeda was imprisoned by the Syrian government for helping to feed people whose homes had been bombed in the war. She managed to escape Syria and now uses food to continue her activism in exile. I first met Majeda a few weeks after she had arrived in the UK in 2017. Read more…

Habib escapes the Taliban, using food as his tool to survive in the Afghan army; in Calais refugee camp and now to thrive in the Big Smoke In 1984, Habib was born in Herat, Afghanistan’s third largest city. At the time, the Soviet Union was heavily bombing the city. He Read more…

Time to Life the Ban “I keep referring to myself as a prisoner… There are no bars and I don’t have the uniform to wear every day, but everything else is the same. Even prisoners – they have a passport, they have a place to call home when they get Read more…

Migrateful Christmas Party 2018 The office festive party season is in full swing, with employees up and down the country letting their hair down for the usual traditions: donning Christmas jumpers, overindulging in booze, and dancing the night away to cheesy hits. The Migrateful Christmas-do was somewhat of a different Read more…

Siege Soup for Syria: Monday 27th November 7 – 9pm Pembroke House, SE17 1QR This evenings line up: We will serve siege soup followed by a presentation from Migrateful chef and Syrian civil rights activist Majeda Khouri about the Syrian siege. We will have a Skype call from Dr Mohamed Khatob Read more…

Some anthropologists say that sharing food is what makes us human. There’s nothing else we do that is so central to making us feel part of a group. Sharing food is an opportunity to physically support each other and to share companionship through mealtime conversation. A companion, deriving from the Read more…