The Splott-based social enterprise Oasis Cardiff is still connecting locals with the cuisines and cultures of asylum seekers
Oasis Cardiff, an organisation which works with asylum seekers to aid their integration in the UK, is offering one of their regular food-based events with a difference – a supper club that enables people to collect food and take it to their own homes.
The event, on 26 November, has the advantage of being compliant with Covid-19 safety practices at a time of uncertainty over the possibility of renewed restrictions.
Matt Davenport, catering manager at Oasis, has pointed out the problems inherent in indoor events at present: “there is a mix of opinions in individuals about how they would like to approach engaging with ‘normal life’ again; not everybody is yet confident enough to be in indoor spaces, which is completely understandable,” he said in an email.
The supper club will feature food from their featured chef Sol, cooking dishes from his former home country of Nepal, including freshly prepared chicken momos (steamed dumplings) and laddu, a syrupy sweet made with gram flour. Also included with the meal is literature about Sol’s story as a refugee – an element common to Oasis events.
According to a Welsh government spokesperson: “Third sector organisations such as Oasis Cardiff and many others across Wales play a key role in the Nation of Sanctuary vision, helping ensure refugees and asylum seekers – no matter where they are from – are provided with the information and support they need to begin to integrate into Welsh society from day one.”
The supper club is just one of Oasis Cardiff’s events heading towards the new year – they’re also offering music performances and storytelling suppers in December. It’s all part of their ongoing mission to educate Cardiffians about the food and cultures of Cardiff’s multicultural communities as well as supporting asylum seekers and refugees.