Integrating migrants through culinary experiences

• Author: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (European Commission)
• Pages: 22-23

SOCIAL INNOVATION: INSPIRATIONAL PRACTICES

SUPPORTING PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES

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© Taste of Home, 2014

Taste of Home cookbook cover

Problem addressed

Refugees face several challenges in integrating into their

destination countries. In Croatia, in 2014 only 7.5% of

those granted refugee status did not depend on state

welfare and were employed in some way. Newcomers’

slow social integration is linked to a range of societal

prejudices and stereotypes as well as a lack of access to

adequate support services.

Innovative solution

Food, gastronomy and dining play a central role in Croatian

culture. The Centre for Peace Studies (CPS), a Croatian NGO,

aimed to use this to break down negative stereotypes of

refugees and migrants in Croatia. In 2014, it published the

Taste of Home cookbook, sharing personal and culinary stories

of refugees. Culinary workshops and public presentations

were organised in Croatian cities with refugee shelters. A

media campaign, ‘If we accepted food, why wouldn’t we

embrace people, too?’ was launched with the aim of reaching

out to the Croatian public and promoting universal messages

of tolerance and respect. In conjunction with the media

campaign, the story of Taste of Home was presented in an

ethnographic documentary (Okus doma, 2016).

Following the success of the cookbook initiative, Taste

of Home was established as a social enterprise in 2016.

It of‌fered catering services prepared by refugees and

migrants, providing them with a source of income to

become f‌inancially independent.

Integrating migrants through

culinary experiences

Taste of home (Okus Doma)

Croatia