Emma's Torch

When Restaurants Level the Playing Field, Everybody Wins | Bon Appétit

"On a bustling summer evening this tiny Brooklyn eatery feels warm and lively, with Middle Eastern pop music, rosé-sipping diners, and torn Toufayan pita dunked into creamy black-eyed-pea hummus. A sheet-glass window proclaims its mission—"EMPOWERING REFUGEES THROUGH CULINARY EDUCATION"—which is central to everything it does: an open kitchen program led by a culinary director trains refugees from places like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Haiti, and Vietnam in professional techniques (knife skills, slow-cooked lamb shank with shawarma spices, etc.) while honoring their home-cooking traditions. Graduates describe a family-like atmosphere, gain practical skills, and are regularly placed into commercial-kitchen jobs; the restaurant has been embraced by its neighborhood and framed as a place where diners’ dollars and values directly support refugee empowerment and workforce integration." - ByHilary Cadigan