Migrateful: Iranian food is arguably one of the most influential cuisines in the world – earning it’s reputation by many as the “mother cuisine”. With 2500 years of saffron and rosewater scented history, it has influenced cooking all over the globe from Morocco to India. Those who have attended Elahe and Parastoo’s cookery classes have reported them to be a “delicious, touching and magical experience”. This is no doubt due to the exquisite flavours of the Iranian cuisine, and to Elahe and Parastoo’s beautiful mother-daughter relationship which is so heart-warming to observe.

Elahe was forced to leave Iran with her children in 2006  after the political situation became too dangerous. She had trained for 7 years as a psychologist in Iran and, despite gaining refugee status in the UK, struggled to find employment due to language barriers and her qualifications not being recognised.

The idea for Migrateful came out of discussions with a group of refugee women at a Time Bank project in Tower Hamlets. Most of these women, like Elahe, were very eager to work and yet unemployed due to language barriers and their qualifications not being recognised. As a result, they were left socially and economically isolated. When asked about the skills they could share with the group, many of them said they could cook. Later, as everyone sat sharing their various traditional foods, and discussing what they could do, the Migrateful idea was born. The cooking skills of the refugee and migrant community combined with our universal love of food could be harnessed to bring people together.

In the photo above, you can see Elahe (on the left) teaching Migrateful’s first cookery class students how to cook Baba Ganoush using camping stoves, in June 2017. Elahe loved the experience: “I got to practice my English, make friends, earn some money and I felt really celebrated”. All of the people who attended the class had an amazing time too. That night, the idea of Migrateful was brought to life, and to my delight – it worked. Since Elahe’s first Iranian cookery class, Migrateful chefs have now taught almost 300 cookery classes to 3000 participants.

Elahe explained “not being able to communicate was one of the biggest barriers I faced when I arrived to the UK. It’s hard to stay positive. It’s about finding your purpose again. Migrateful is really helping. It was really hard for me to integrate in this country at the beginning because I never got the chance to meet people. But now at my cookery classes the people I meet seem so excited to talk to me and now I feel really welcome in this country. Migrateful has helped me to improve my confidence and self-esteem and to believe in my capabilities again.” >>>