Features / refugees
Blending food, memory and community
Against the backdrop of Sri Lankan music and the scent of spices wafting through the kitchen, chef Jaufferkhan shares his story with quiet reflection.
The 52-year-old chef speaks about his journey to Bristol as a refugee, and how leading Migrateful cookery classes has become a way to share the culture of a homeland he can no longer return to.
The cooking class, held in Bedminster at the Mazi Project was part of the two-week long Bristol Refugee Festival. The theme for 2025 is ‘community as a superpower’ with the aim of spotlighting diverse communities across Bristol.
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In the spirit of that theme, Jaufferkhan’s class followed a ‘family cooking’ style, where participants moved between stations, each contributing to a collective table of dishes, rather than preparing individual meals.
After preparing the meals, all participants sat across a table to share the food over conversations and laughter
As participants milled about the room, chef Jaufferkhan peppered his cooking instructions with stories of his life in Sri Lanka.
He told the group about learning to cook at the age of 10 – cleaning okra with his mother, watching his father haggle at the fish market, and making his first dhal for his boy scout troop.
Contained within these stories is Jaufferkhan’s hope of sharing his Sri Lankan heritage with the group.
“People love my classes, they’re often sold out,” he says smiling.
“Afterwards people always ask where I get my ingredients. Even the aubergine I use is different to what’s in the supermarkets here, and I like teaching people about Sri Lankan ingredients.”
Jaufferkhan’s story as a refugee began as a result of the Sri Lankan civil war, leading him to flee to Bahrain.
During his 23 years there, he attempted to return home to visit family, but was arrested by the authorities due to his family’s past support for displaced individuals during the conflict.
Chef Jaufferkhan childhood stories had a prominent place in the Sri-Lankan themed cookery class
Speaking of this harrowing experience, Jaufferkhan explains: “Most people in the country came from affected areas to our city, and we gave them a place to stay and shared our belongings.
“We were accused of supporting suspected Tamil factions during the war.
“My dad was a teacher, and he had an enquiry from the police as to why he provided shelter for people moving from affected areas. My dad went to the police station, and every week we had to report who was coming to see us”.
Warned by his father that things would only worsen for Tamilians, Jaufferkhan left Sri Lanka, but a later attempt to return led to his arrest and abuse that left lasting physical and mental scars.
He somberly recalls: “They pulled out some of my teeth. I also required surgery because I have some spinal issues from what the authorities in Sri Lanka did to me during this time.”
Many of Migrateful’s cookery classes are hosted at the Mazi Project
Jaufferkhan moved to the UK two and a half years ago after his Bahrain visa expired.
For much of that time, he and his family lived in hotels. Just this week, he was granted full refugee status.
He now hopes to remain in Bristol: “Bristol is welcoming,” he says. “The people are good, kind and generous.”
By working with Migrateful, a charity that trains and employs refugees and migrants to lead cookery classes, Jaufferkhan has found an outlet to share his passion for Sri Lankan cooking with a wider community.
Hannah Charter, a 25-year-old who works in Migrateful’s Bristol operations, mirrors this sentiment: “The classes are about connecting people and telling stories.
“Food is such a familiar thing from people’s childhood, and connecting with people from all over the world about the topic is really nice.”
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Hannah says that Jaufferkhan has built strong friendships with other chefs at Migrateful, whom Jaufferkhan refers to as his brothers and sisters.
According to Hannah, Bristol is the ideal city for Migrateful to grow in: “It has such a history, being a port town, with generations of migrants contributing to the city, and people want to mix and build stronger diversity in their community.”
As the class works together, chopping, stirring and creating dishes like chicken curry, coconut rice and aubergine curry, conversation flows naturally.
Safaa Samrra, a 29-year-old of Iraqi heritage living in Fishponds, joined the class after being gifted a ticket for her birthday. As she scrapes coconut, she reflects on what the class has meant to her.
“As a migrant myself, I thought the class would be a really beautiful way to learn about people who have come to this country to start a new life.
“Just hearing how important family is to chef Jaufferkhan really resonated with me. You can feel the heart in his cooking and his stories.”
Saffa Samrra is one of the many who have found joy in Migrateful’s cookery classes – Photo: Maelo Manning
When the group sits down together at a long table, with full plates, the conversation turns to Sri Lanka.
As Jaufferkhan recalls happy memories of climbing fruit trees, someone asks what his favourite Sri Lankan restaurant in Bristol is. He laughs, “My own cooking!”
By the end of the evening, it is clear that, despite difficult memories, Jaufferkhan has created a communal curiosity about Sri Lankan culture.
His parting message is to encourage others to learn about different foods and cultures where possible.
Jaufferkhan’s passion for sharing his culture through food resonated deeply with the group.
Several participants left with plans to explore more Migrateful classes and a renewed interest in the stories behind Bristol’s refugee communities.
Migrateful are currently fundraising to open a cookery school in Bristol, providing a venue for refugees and migrants to run classes.
Maelo Manning is reporting on Bristol’s South Asian community as part of Bristol24/7’s Community Reporters programme, aiming to amplify marginalised voices and communities often overlooked by mainstream media. This initiative is funded by our public, Better Business members and a grant from The Nisbets Trust.
All photos: Maelo Manning
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