Dinner Cooked by Refugees Takes Place in Austin During SXSW

Komeeda, a company that hosts pop-up dinners in New York City, is hosting a dinner during South by Southwest in honor of its April move to Austin. The dinner takes place tomorrow, March 13, at 6:30 p.m., at 502 Thompson Lane. Proceeds from the $65 ticket will go towards the Refugee Services of Texas.

The dinner will be hosted by Jabber Al-Bihani and Nas Jab of Komeeda as well as Ayman Bashi and Raya Thanoon, an Iraqi refugee couple who are owners and operators of Baiti Food (which will also receive a portion of the dinner proceeds). The couple were profiled in the Statesman in 2017.

The dinner will feature a variety of dishes like tabbouleh salad, beef cracked wheat bread, meatball biryani, and sweet znood (phyllo dough & milk sweetened with simple syrup with a touch of pistachio). Bashi and Thanoon will also provide a narrative of their experiences.

Al-Bihani and Jab are also hosting a panel at SXSW earlier that day, with a representative from Refugee Services of Texas. It will look at how people are using food as a grassroots initiatives to empower Americans and strengthen communities. They were accepted to MassChallenge Accelerator TX, so expect to see other pop-ups in Austin soon.

• Komeeda’s Displaced Kitchens Dinner [Event Tickets]
• Displaced Kitchens: Community Empowerment via Food [SXSW panel]
• Komeeda [Official]
• Komeeda [Facebook]
• Komeeda [Instagram]
• Komeeda [Twitter]
• Baiti Food [Official]
• Baiti Food [Facebook]