Syrian chef in London brings relief to refugees
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From Damascus to London: Imad Alarnab was one Syriaʹs most prominent chefs, but fled the war three years ago. After crossing 10 countries he arrived in London in October 2015. With the support of the British charity Help Refugees he opened 13 pop-up restaurants around London and used the profits to help fund a hospital in Aleppo. His falafel bar on Great Marlborough street opened in early December -
Keeping it simple: "I donʹt know what they have in London, but what they call falafel is not the real thing. I want to introduce them to the real falafel," says Imad. According to Imad, falafel is very simple and only has five ingredients: chickpeas, salt, coriander, onion, and garlic -
Relief for refugees: in a small shop on Great Marlborough street, Imad and Help Refugees teamed up in order to introduce London to real Syrian food and to bring relief to refugees in camps in Lebanon and Jordan. Their previous pop-up restaurants raised £100,000 (€110,000, $126,000) for a hospital in Aleppo -
Food for all: "with this pop-up we plan to buy food baskets for refugees in Lebanon and Jordan," says Imad. Every pound from lunch boxes and £15 from dinner tickets will go to Help Refugees in order to buy food for refugees in the Middle East -
Sold out: Imad decided to offer an alternative dinner for Londoners during the Christmas period: a three-course meal of traditional Syrian food. Londoners and tourists have embraced Imadʹs Syrian kitchen, which is packed with people daily... and dinner tickets are sold out -
Choose love: Imad prepares and serves food daily with Hassan Akkad, an acclaimed filmmaker who won last yearʹs BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) award for "Exodus", a documentary about his journey from Syria -
Syria is so much more than war: "the Syrian culture is not just about war and bombings," says Imad. When people hear about Syria the first thing that pops into their mind is the image of war. Imad aims to change all that, however – through his food -
ʹYallah habibiʹ: attracted by the smell of Syrian falafel, passers-by on the street stop to see why people are queuing up outside this small shop. Some already know about the kitchen and come from all over London for Imadʹs falafel -
ʹIf you canʹt afford it, itʹs on usʹ: although Imadʹs pop-up restaurants are very successful, he is hoping to open his own restaurant in London. As Imad says, London has given him his second chance, something he believes everyone deserves