A Taste of Hope
ELLA LOWDEN
To celebrate this year’s Refugee Week, venues across Hastings and St Leonards are taking part in a food festival, organised by The Refugee Buddy Project. Recipes of Courage is a week-long programme of events, bringing people together to share recipes that carry stories of resilience, community and hope.
The week began with a sold out launch dinner in Alexander Park, where local chefs served up a feast of different dishes. The dinner was an opportunity for people to share food and stories celebrating Hastings as a sanctuary for migrants and people seeking refuge.
Speaking on the dinner’s importance, CEO of The Refugee Buddy Project, Rossana Leal, explained that sharing food “can reveal just how much we have in common” when we talk about ingredients, flavours and recipes we use “a universal language which cuts across any differences we may have.”
On the same night, The Refugee Buddy Project released their cookzine, a collection of recipes contributed by people across the community, designed by Katy Louis.
Throughout the week more than 20 local Safe Haven venues are offering Refugee Week specials on their menus. One venue, The Crown on All Saint’s St, is serving a family recipe for baklava from Mustafa Bakro and his wife Lina. When asked about her choice of recipe Lina said that “for us in Syria, and specifically in my home city of Idlib, baklava is a symbol of hospitality and love.”
Hospitality and love are central to this food festival, but they also reflect what is unique about our town of Hastings and the warm welcome we strive to provide for those seeking refuge.
If you begin to fill up on all the delicious food offerings, venues are also serving an array of brilliant performances, talks and exhibitions: from cooking classes for young people to free Spanish lessons and storytelling evenings.
To top off the week, head over to Hastings Museum for Sanctuary Festival on Sunday 21 June. Organised by local charity, Hastings Community of Sanctuary, the festival is a celebration of community and courage, showcasing performances by artists and musicians from around the world. Throughout the day there will be live music, creative workshops and debates – not to mention a variety of delicious food stalls from Mama Putts, Liban Coast, Mama Geny’s and The Dove Cafe.
Try a taste of something new this Refugee Week.
To find out more about The Recipes of Courage festival visit therefugeebuddyproject.org.uk/events/food-festival To find out more about Sanctuary Festival visit hastings.cityofsanctuary.org/sanctuary-festival
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