World Refugee Day is celebrated on June 20th of every year, to commemorate the struggles of millions of displaced people. In collaboration with Eat Offbeat, a refugee-led catering company in NYC, this year we seek to amplify the voices of Black refugees in light of the current movement for equality of Black lives. Edafe Okporo is the former kitchen manager for Eat Offbeat. He came to the United States from Nigeria to escape persecution for his work advocating for LGBTQ rights. Join us in a discussion with Edafe and Chef Rose (Central Africa Republic) as they discuss their experiences coming to America and the role food has played in their lives.
“When we talk about race, we’re talking about food. When we talk about division, we’re talking about food. When people settle in a new country, the first thing they miss is food. Integrating another person’s food into your life is accepting their culture. Tasting our food is tasting our way of life.” - Edafe
Please note that tickets are available at three levels:
Level one ($25) includes a reserved ticket.
Level two ($35) Reserve Ticket + Digital Recipe Book + Access to Digital Recipe Videos This level includes a reserved ticket plus access to an Eat Offbeat Digital Cookbook and accompanying recipe videos. We invite you to make the dishes beforehand and enjoy them while we engage in our discussion!
Level three ($65) *NYC ONLY* Reserved Ticket + Meal + Digital Recipe Book + Access to Digital Recipe Videos.
If you live in NYC and would rather have the meal delivered to you pre-cooked and ready to heat, our chefs would love to cook for you! This add-on will still give you access to the Eat Offbeat Digital Cookbook and accompanying recipe videos if you’d like to cook the dishes at a later time. We invite you to heat up your meal beforehand and enjoy it while we engage in our discussion!
** All deliveries will arrive on June 17th, can be refrigerated overnight and reheated the next day**
Menu:
Chopped Veggie Salad with Mustard Dressing
Senegalese Chicken Yassa
Jollof Rice
Rice Pudding with Mangos + Walnuts
MANAL KAHI
Manal is the co-founder and CEO of Eat Offbeat, a refugee-driven food company that delivers authentic meals conceived and prepared by refugees who now call New York City home. Manal moved to NYC to pursue a career in environmental affairs, but the Hummus she found on supermarket shelves led her on a different journey. She co- founded Eat Offbeat to help New Yorkers discover authentic cuisines from around the world all the while creating quality jobs. Eat Offbeat has since served over 250,000 meals in NYC and has been featured in media outlets including Forbes, The Guardian, the Huffington Post, Newsweek, Fast Company and others.
EDAFE OKPORO
Edafe is a beautiful combination of artist and activist, and is famous for speaking his mind. He’s the executive director of RDJ Refugee Shelter in Harlem, the only shelter for refugees in New York city. Edafe is the Author of Compassion Is Worth More!, performed a one man show BED 26 at studio 54 New York city based on his story as a refugee from Nigeria. To learn more: www.edafeokporo.com
CHEF ROSE
Rose may hail from the Central Africa Republic, but at Eat Offbeat she embodies the hustle and ingenuity of the Bronx, her chosen borough. As a key member of our delivery and service team, Rose often surprises customers with her strength, navigating city streets with orders for several hundred people. A delivery from Rose stands out for the combo of careful presentation paired with a contagious laugh and perhaps a pitch for future orders. At the Eat Offbeat kitchen, Rose is regularly found helping other team members or whipping up distinctive family meals with a sustainable touch. Having grown up on traditional fire-roasted fare, Rose favors Central African staples like corn, millet, and cassava. As a young woman, Rose fled unstable Bangui for Cameroon, and eventually the United States. After overcoming an arduous journey to create a life in New York, perhaps it’s no surprise that Rose runs the streets of NYC with enough verve, warmth and positivity to exhaust even the most endurance-tested Uber driver.
KADIDJA
Kadidja came to the United States from the Central Africa Republic when she was 17. She’s now a senior at Hunter College studying Bio-Chem. After she graduates, she wants to pursue a degree in med-school or nursing. When she’s not in school or helping out the delivery team at Eat Offbeat, she loves to workout. When asked about her favorite dish cooked by her mom (Chef Rose) she says “I love all her food so that’s a hard question but probably her Okra sauce with couscous!”
At Eat Offbeat, we are food enthusiasts defined not by immigration status, but by a commitment to the shared flavors, stories, and values that make each of us New Yorkers. To Eat Offbeat is to encounter distinct ingredients like tahini and saffron, cilantro and masala, figs and pomegranates, that (like our chefs) work in tandem to form unexpected tastes.