The Open Arms Cookbook

Pie Factory Music has launched the Open Arms Cookbook – a vibrant celebration of culture, connection and the healing power of food.

The cookbook has been created by unaccompanied young people from asylum-seeking and refugee backgrounds who have arrived in Thanet alone.

Featuring some 31 culinary inspirations, with stories and photos, the book is more than a collection of recipes. Every dish tells a story of memory and belonging. Through its pages, readers will taste the community spirit created at the social club, dedicated to supporting the brave 13- to 21-year-olds as they arrive and settle in East Kent.

At a time when many people focus on what it means to feel cosy and safe at home, with family, the launch of the Open Arms Cookbook celebrates the rich cultures and new connections and sense of home that can come through sharing a meal together.

Cooking Ghormeh Sabzi, an Iranian herb stew, brings happy memories of home for Ali*. They’ve been coming to Open Arms since they arrived in the UK alone at the age of 12. Whenever they cook during sessions, they will request this dish, because it reminds them of the times  they ate it with their family at big events and gatherings.

Moa Norrsell Fahlander, Open Arms Project lead at Pie Factory Music said: “At Open Arms, we’ve cooked and tasted delicious dishes from across the globe, listening to the stories and memories evoked only when in the kitchen or sitting around the table.

“Sharing a dish isn’t just about the food itself, it’s a way of learning something about someone else: who taught you to cook this? What place does this dish hold in your culture? When did you last eat this? We’ve seen how cooking and eating together holds a healing power for the young people who come to Open Arms – offering a way to connect and a chance to feel pride and a sense of home.”

Since 2022, Pie has held 157 Open Arms sessions, welcoming 600 young people from 29 nationalities and cooking 157 fresh meals together.

Foster carer Dylane said: “This cookbook is for anyone who wants to explore food from across the world, and it is also a resource for foster carers wanting ideas for how to cook with and for the young people in their care. Buying this book also helps us gift these books for free to refugee or asylum-seeking young people now living alone and cooking for themselves.”

The Open Arms Cookbook is £15 at https://shop.piefactorymusic.com.

Join the Cookbook launch party at ARK Cliftonville on Thursday 18th December 6:30pm – 9:30pm, a festive evening of food, crafts and music, with a chance to buy your copy in person.

Try freshly cooked food, straight from the cookbook inspired by dishes from Afghanistan, Syria, Kurdistan, make wreaths, bracelets, Christmas cards and screen printing with artist Charlie Evaristo Boyce, and hear the Pie choir, Daisy Beau, Kkailou, Katie and Eddie and Jegna Jegna Girls perform with DJ Josh Steeples playing tunes from across the globe.

Get your free tickets here. All donations on the night go to support Pie’s Open Arms project.

The Open Arms Cookbook has been a collaborative project:

Young asylum-seekers and refugees from the Open Arms project – Contributors
Moa Norrsell Fahlander – Project Manager, author
Hattie Pierce – Project Coordinator, author
Dylane Hubbard – for recipes, texts, wisdom, and care
Tom Wright and Peter Bateson – photographers
George Harding – book design
Charlie Evaristo-Boyce – cover art and illustrations
Pie team and volunteers – Hetty Bax, Daisy Kelly-Granger, Mark Hearne and Steph Dickinson
NHS Kent & Medway funded.