A social enterprise helping cooks from various cultural backgrounds to share their food via a weekend take away delivery service.
Since 2017, I’ve had the pleasure of hosting and mentoring Jacob Fodio Todd and his social enterprise, The Feature Kitchen. Jacob also grew up in southern Africa and went to school in Lewes before moving to London. He travelled all over the world and returned to live in Lewes when he wanted to start a family. One thing he missed not living in London was the availability of diverse cultural food. He came up with the idea of a weekend “Cultural Food” catering and home delivery service after a conversation with Genet, an Ethiopian refugee living in Brighton who dreamed of cooking for the public as she had done before migrating. He decided to create a social enterprise enabling cooks such as Genet to share their food with the public while developing their business skills and understanding of the UK food industry.
During his time at the Lewes Community Kitchen, the business has grown 4 fold and now employs 5 people. The culinary savvy of Lewes and Brighton have enjoyed food from Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Burma, Anatolia, Zambia, Trinidad, Libya, Thailand and many more including South London. It’s been fascinating meeting the chefs and to get to know more about their food and culture. Jacob is a powerhouse of energy and a super guy to work with.
Fridays and Saturdays down at the Lewes Community Kitchen – great food, diverse music and positive vibes!
Jacob says, “I seek out exceptional cooks who may lack the means, confidence or platform to showcase their food to produce innovative menus that often showcase the cuisine of their origin, or established expertise. The food is prepared together in a professional kitchen and is delivered to homes in Lewes and Brighton and everywhere between. With little capital outlay, low overheads and minimal waste, our social enterprise is able to provide a reasonably priced meal for customers and a generous reward for the cooks. We are able to deliver interesting high-quality food cooked with talent by members of the local community. Our aim is also to celebrate the concealed cultural and culinary diversity of the area, and simultaneously educate, working against mainstream nationalistic, xenophobic and anti-immigrant narratives.”
The food is delicious, the portions are generous and the ethos is sound! If you are local to Lewes or Brighton, I’d highly recommend you give it a go
Find out more about The Feature Kitchen.
