French catering company hires refugee chefs

This catering company hires refugee chefs to cook and serve food native to their homelands.

Putting the adage that the way to a person’s heart is through their stomach at the center of their business, new Paris catering company Les Cuistots Migrateurs (The Migrant Cooks) hires migrant chefs to produce the best cuisine from their homelands. The founders of the company want to increase understanding and empathy amongst native French citizens to the plight of refugees. Chefs already hired include a Sri Lankan, an Indian, an Iranian, an Ethiopian, a Chechen and three Syrians.

People are encouraged to put immigrant chefs in touch with the company who will then audition them. Events catered by the company include lunches, dinners and buffets, as well cooking at street food stalls and festivals. The company’s goal is to continue to expand its business in order to provide more full time jobs. Currently, only the chefs that cook at the food stall at concert venue Le Petit Bain are fully employed, with the others hired on short term contracts as needed by the catering orders.

With global numbers of refugees and immigrants at unprecedented levels, creatives around the world are finding new ways to help communities integrate. In The Netherlands, a new business and ideas hub has been set up next to a refugee center with the express purpose of encouraging partnerships and entrepreneurship. Refugee chefs in New York City are using a new delivery service to bring their cuisine to locals. How else could current and new citizens work together to provide socially responsible businesses?