Spices without Borders

We partnered up once again with the Bristol Refugee Rights for a fundraising event as part of the Bristol Food Connections 2018! The Bristol Food Connections is an annual festival where food takes over the city - individuals, businesses and organisations that make Bristol's food culture so unique are highlighted and celebrated in a week-long event!

Our theme this year was 'Spices without Borders' - a reminder of the borders and barriers that are overcome by many through the hard work of amazing charities like the Bristol Refugee Rights. All the food was lovingly prepared by partners of the Bristol Refugee Rights who have also been guest chefs here at The Spicery (and no strangers to bossing around our very own developmental chef, Matt in the kitchen!).

the menu

Guests were greeted with a refreshing Karkade (hibiscus tea from Egypt) and then ushered down to our warehouse for a short tour of our HQ before sitting down for a meal.

For starters, we enjoyed Ghotab (Qottab) - a delicious hand rolled pastry filled with delicately spiced (turmeric, chilli, parsley, pepper) vegetables, prepared by Sule from Iran.

Refat, who is from Bangladesh, made us Curry Egg and Seared Aubergines spiced with turmeric, chilli, toasted cumin, and toasted coriander.

Moving on to the main course, there was Benachin (also known as Jollof), lovingly prepared by Awa from The Gambia. She described this dish as a family recipe, mixing rice with an overflowing multitude of vegetables with chilli, mustard, and pepper. We also enjoyed Asida (the Sudanese response to polenta) which was cooked by Mirfat of Sudan. This dish was accompanied by the delicious Tagalia sauce made with beef or okra and spiced with toasted coriander, green cardamon, nutmeg, and chilli.

And finally, Sule treated us to a delicious Saffron Rice dessert from Iran which made the perfect end to a fun-filled evening! 

Read more about our work with Bristol Refugee Rights here