Refugee Recipe Celebration Chef Demos

Celebrate the strong connections among plants, food and culture in honor of World Refugee Day! Chefs from Friends of Refugees mix up our weekend cooking demonstrations with international recipes alongside other activities that highlight Atlanta’s diverse refugee communities and foodways.

Watch and learn as chefs from the Friends of Refugees prepare international recipes in the Outdoor Kitchen, then try a small sample.*
*while supplies last
10:30 a.m.  Sela Paw with LorAe Htoo and Aewa Shee – Karen Cuisine (Burma)
11:30 a.m. Ja Jyu Lon Ko, Two Fish – Burmese Cuisine
12:30 p.m.  Karim + Miriam Alrubaii, Al Chef – Iraqi/Middle Eastern Cuisine
1:30 p.m.  Ritha Mwida – Congolese Cuisine
Learn more about chefs below:
Sela Paw

Sela Paw was born in Burma and moved to a Thailand refugee camp with her family when she was an infant. When she was six, her family immigrated to the United States. The new country felt unfamiliar at first but she slowly adjusted into the diverse community over time. Her parents would garden growing up and provide fresh food for the family. As she grew older, she joined Jolly Avenue Garden, a community space where people from many backgrounds grew their own food and shared their stories. She loved learning from other gardeners and seeing how gardening could bring people together. Inspired by her family and her time in the garden, Sela decided to study horticulture and is now starting her own garden at home.

Ja Jyu Lon Ko

Two Fish Myanmar serves authentic Burmese dishes. The menu attracts customers seeking traditional comfort food from Myanmar, as well as new customers experiencing the cuisine for the first time.  
Owners Yapar and Ja Jyu Lon Ko, resettled in the United States in 2015. After years of running the business part-time from their home, the family decided to launch their homestyle cooking into a full time business in spring of 2024.
The name of the business comes from the story of Jesus taking five loaves and two fish, multiplying them to feed a crowd.

Karim + Miriam Alrubaii

Al Chef is a family-owned Mediterranean restaurant located in the Clarkston Market in Clarkston, Georgia, serving the diverse communities of the greater Atlanta area. The business is rooted in the story of husband and wife Karim and Siham. The head chef, Karim Alrubaii, was born in Basra, Iraq, and the owner/sous-chef, Siham Suleiman, was born in Ayn Al-Shams, Syria. Both fled to Lebanon before eventually immigrating to the U.S. Like many immigrants, food became their bridge to culture and home. Karim spent over 30 years in kitchens; before coming to the U.S., he built a restaurant on a ship that used to import supplies to Iraq.