At a popular Arab supermarket on the aptly named Sonnenallee (Sun Avenue) in Berlin’s Neukolln neighbourhood, volunteers of the Open Kitchen select with meticulous care the freshest vegetables, nuts, and olives in different shades of green and black.
Like every Thursday at 5.30pm, they are out shopping for ingredients to feed about 30 guests coming from across the globe. But this week is special: kahvalti, the Turkish breakfast, is at the Open Kitchen’s menu.
Volunteers will prepare an array of small plates including a variety of cheeses and olives, fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, jams, leafy greens, dips and the spicy acuka spread.
Open Kitchen is a social cooking project run by Hejmo, a non-governmental organisation that works to break down cultural barriers in the German capital for migrant people and refugees.
Through weekly gatherings running since 2013, the project has journeyed across the world’s culinary traditions, from Pakistan to Poland, China to Chile, and all kinds of venues across Berlin, from museums to the philharmonic and even the park of former Tempelhof airport.
