#CookForSyria, the campaign to increase awareness of plight of refugee children

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Dished made for the campaign. Photo: CookForSyria
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Book that can be bought to support the campaign. Image: CookForSyria
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Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, chefs of Aubergine Fetteh. Photo: CookForSyria

The initiative was launched by the London based blogger Clerkenwell Boy and SUITCASE Magazine to raise money for UNICEF’s Syria Relief fund.

#CookForSyria is an international fundraising initiative curated by Clerkenwell Boy, a London based blogger, and SUITCASE Magazine to preserve and celebrate Syrian culture amidst one of the largest humanitarian crisis of the last years. The ongoing conflict in Syria has caused the largest humanitarian crisis since World War II and the risk of losing a generation grows with every day that the current situation deteriorates. The initiative first started in London on 31 October 2016, followed by Sydney and Melbourne in February/March 2017 and the USA in June 2017.

The campaign encourage everyone from the UK’s top chefs to people at home to cook and raise money in aid of UNICEF’s Syria Relief fund, with the hope that the initiative will the be continued globally. At the moment, many participants have already joined: Cafe Murano, Crumble, St john Restaurant, The Good Egg, Pizza Pilgrims, etc. There are many recipes on the website to be inspired, from a slow cooked peas & veal to an upside-down lamb cake, all them created by different chefs all around the UK and other countries.

There are many different ways to get involved with #CookForSyria:

Donations: supported by 368 people, it has raised 46,222£ until now. You can donate here.
Hosting a supper club: anyone can host their own #CookForSyria supper clubs and charity bakes. Special recipes from launch night might be shared online alongside additional Syrian inspired recipes from award winning chefs.
Buying the recipe book: 100 recipes and stunning photos, artwork and design. The benefits from purchases will be 100% donated to UNICEF’s humanitarian work to save children in Syria.
Participating in your restaurant or cafe: chefs, bakers and café owners can join the campaign but putting the ‘Syrian inspired twist’ on one of their dishes and donating 2€ from each sale of that dish.
Sharing: social networks and the internet are the best tools to spread information. Whether people have cooked for Syria, eaten or just want to repost images of Syran inspired dishes, they ask everybody to spread the word using the hashtag #CookForSyria.

From intimate dinners in their East London home to whimsical evenings held in a hidden tile factory on Regent’s Canal, Alice Levine and Laura Jackson, aka Jackson&Levine, they have also published some information giving recommendations on how to host a #CookForSyria charity breakfast, lunch, brunch or dinner. You can find it here. Moreover, a refugee chef has also cooked up a taste of Syria in London and has also joined this non-profit initiative.