50. Imad's Syrian Kitchen with Imad Al Arnab

Asylum Speakers Podcast with Jaz O'Hara: Stories of Migration and Displacement

In today’s episode I speak to the wonderful Imad Al Arnab of Imad’s Syrian Kitchen. Imad has such an amazing story. He was a successful restaurateur in his home city of Damascus, Syria where he owned multiple restaurants, several juice bars and coffee shops. After they were all bombed and it became apparent he had to leave, he made the dangerous journey to the UK, where at first he worked in a car wash and as a car salesman. It didn’t take long for him to go on to open his very successful restaurant in Central London - Imad’s Syrian Kitchen.. He’s now written a recipe book also called Imad’s Syrian Kitchen - a love letter from Damascus to London, and is in the process of opening an even bigger restaurant still in Kingly Court off Carnaby Street.

In the run up to interviewing Imad I read loads of articles about his story. In some he spoke about the 65 days he spent living in Calais, holding on to the underside of lorries trying to get to the UK. But most importantly I remember him talking about how cooking was always a part of his journey. How a British Pakistani volunteer had given him a small stove and gas canisters so he could cook for himself and 14 friends. How he didn’t want to carry a knife and appear dangerous so he broke the vegetables up with his hands, and how a local Calais resident had been annoyed with them fishing close by, until one day Imad offered him some of the dish he had made with the fish, and from then on, he allowed Imad and his friends to charge their phones at his house.

Imad is so instantly warm and likeable. We recorded this episode in the restaurant after having lunch there together. I didn’t order, but before I knew it the table was covered in colourful, beautiful dishes. I remembered some of Imad’s words from another article saying “In Syria we don’t ask ‘what do you want to eat? We just serve lots of food and you can eat whatever you like, whenever you like. It’s like family.”

I LOVED Imad’s positive outlook and came away from the conversation totally topped up and inspired… I’m so sure you will too…

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