Since our founding in 2019, Refugee Cafe has been guided by a core vision: to connect refugees, people seeking asylum, and the wider Lewisham community through food, creating sustainable pathways to employment, community, and stability. What began as a group of committed local volunteers with a dream of building a community cafe grew into years of market stalls, supper clubs, cooking workshops, training and communal meals that celebrated sanctuary, cultivated belonging and shared culinary cultures.
Over the years, Refugee Cafe has delivered a wide range of dynamic community initiatives. Through a global pandemic, shifting resources and evolving community needs, we remained focused on building community through food. We partnered and collaborated with markets, churches, colleges, and cultural venues. Most recently, we delivered a bespoke training and skills-building programme for aspiring refugee chefs in partnership with Lewisham College and The Albany. Our pilot Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP) supported refugees with hospitality training, paid placements, and the opportunity to gain confidence and experience – as seen through the journey of our head chef Anastasia.
However, after much careful reflection and strategic planning with the incredible team at MigrationWork CIC, we have made the difficult decision to close Refugee Cafe as an operating organisation by the end of 2025. This decision comes not from a lack of purpose or need, but from a clear understanding that our mission can be better served by other local organisations with the skills, expertise, and drive to deliver meaningful work. We have now responsibly divested our remaining funds to two organisations that share our values and mission of supporting sanctuary seekers in Lewisham and surrounding areas through employment, training, and bringing communities together over food. We are confident that supporting these initiatives that are already embedded in the local landscape and aligned with our ethos is the best possible use of the resources that we have now, and that these divestments will achieve the best impact for our aims.
We are excited to introduce our primary partner organisation, Gma’s Kitchen. Operating in Lambeth and Lewisham, Gma’s aims to alleviate food poverty and drive social inclusion among refugees and those seeking asylum through community dinners, vocational training and onward employment. With our support, Gma’s will develop regular community gatherings where all local residents can share meals, build friendships, and experience belonging. This will be supplemented by a structured training programme providing vocational skills, English practice, and experience in a professional kitchen environment. Gma’s catering service and its wider network of partnerships will provide employment opportunities in the community.
We are also proud to be supporting Plateful Cafe, a Lewisham-based charity led with and for refugees. Plateful was founded in 2022 by Refugee Cafe’s founder, Iolanda Chicoro. It offers structured kitchen training, accredited qualifications, ESOL support, career coaching and paid work opportunities. Currently volunteer-led, they will use this funding to hire their first salaried Kitchen Manager – a vital step in scaling their training programme and supporting refugees into sustainable employment. Together, these two organisations will ensure that our values live on.
At Refugee Cafe, food has always offered more than sustenance. It has nourished skills, connection, hope and belonging – fueling not just our bodies but a sense of safety and shared joy in our community. Thank you for being part of our table. We close with hearts full of gratitude, not just for what was achieved, but for what can still be created when people gather together to cook and share food.
We express our deepest gratitude to everyone who contributed their time, funds, skills, food, love and energy to Refugee Cafe. To our incredible volunteers, trustees past and present, funders, partner organisations, and, most of all, the many cooks and chefs we have worked with in the past: thank you.
What next?
- You can follow the great work if both Gma’s Kitchen and Plateful Cafe
- Our website will remain live through over next few months to share updates and news from our friends
- We will look to host a final celebration event for Refugee Cafe in the New Year, so keep an eye out for that!
