News / cookery school
Crowdfunder for cookery school where refugees and migrants share culinary skills
An award-winning food charity will hopefully soon have a permanent home in Bristol for their cookery classes aimed at “changing lives”.
At Migrateful, members of the refugee and migrant communities are encouraged to share their culinary skills with the general public through special cooking classes that could then enable their integration into society.
Founder Jessica Thompson grew up on Whiteladies Road and hosted the charity’s first-ever class here in 2017, before moving operations to London.
However starting in 2019, Migrateful has been regularly hosting classes in Bristol, and a growing demand for their classes means they have “outgrown their current setup of using pop-up venues”.
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To fulfil the dream of a permanent cookery school based at Windmill Hill City Farm, Migrateful is raising funds that will be directly used in realising this dream. Every donation of up to £250 will be match-funded by Aviva Community Fund, with special rewards and vouchers also available for donors.
The charity, which has held nearly 300 classes in Bristol already, said: “Bristol has been part of the Migrateful journey from the very beginning.
“In August 2024, Bristol saw a rise in violence targeting asylum seekers and minority communities during the summer riots. It was a painful time for our chefs and wider community.
“But it also galvanised a movement—one that Migrateful is proud to be part of—to make Bristol a truly welcoming city for all.
“Our new cookery school, based at the much-loved Windmill Hill City Farm, will provide paid opportunities for refugee chefs and a space for Bristolians to connect through the joy of cooking and eating together.
“Now, we need your support to fit out the space and bring this vision to life. With your help, we’ll open the doors by September, creating a new home for our Bristol Migrateful family and a powerful symbol of hope and belonging.”
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Migrateful was born when Thompson floated the idea with a group of refugee women during a skill exchange program in London.
Soon, Thompson and the women came together to create what has since become an award-winning charity, with Thompson also being featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2020.
All ‘chefs’ who lead the charity’s classes are referred to Migrateful because they’ve been struggling to integrate into the UK society. Since its inception, the charity has successfully hosted more than 5,000 cookery classes with chefs from 48 different nationalities.
Main photo: Migrateful
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