Amna: A new restaurant in Boston
traces the remarkable journey of
immigrant food and celebrates
the people who help bring it to
our tables.
Laura barron-lopez gives us a
taste.
Laura: It is the rice and the
spice that tell the story of
chef kwasi kwaa's signature
dish.
Jerk-roasted duck.
>> The rice is a caribbean dish
but the spices in the rice.
Laura prepared with passed-down
: Cooking methods from around
the globe.
>> A lot of the ingredients have
moved around the world based on
travel immigration, whether you
, know, voluntary or
involuntary.
So, you know, we're talking
human trade, we're talking about
spice trade, we're talking about
goods and commodities trade.
And there's so much culture tied
to that that those are the
stories that we always want to
not only highlight but celebrate
.
Laura: Storytelling is at the
core of comfort kitchen, where
customers can learn about the
history of global migration
through food.
Why do you think customers
should care about the history of
where their food comes from?
>> We are all very much affected
by colonization that happened
hundreds of years ago.
It is often used against us.
But if we are more familiar with
our history and background on
story there's more similar
, struggles that we all go
through.
And I think that's important for
us is building empathy through
food.
Laura: For kwaa, who immigrated
to the U.S. From Ghana in 1997,
and rai, who came from Nepal in
2002, it all starts with the
menu.
>> I want the food industry to
respect black and brown
immigrant food.
Laura: Designed with the look
and feel of a culinary magazine,
customers can learn about okra's
origins in Africa, or that their
yassa chicken is an example of
single pot cooking that has
sustained civilizations for
centuries.
>> If you're able to connect
people, culture, to the food, it
makes it more meaningful.
We're not only looking to tell
the stories of those ingredients
and those cooking methods, but
we're looking to tell the
stories of the folks that are
behind those ingredients.
Laura: Like many other
immigrants, the pair found an
access point to America in the
food industry, where they worked
together in various jobs for
more than a decade, including
running pop-up restaurants
during the pandemic.
But in January, together with a
local nonprofit, they finished
converting this historic
building once used by streetcar
riders enjoy dining space.
-- Into a dining space.
Why did you both get involved in
the food industry?
>> Absolute necessity.
[Laughter]
>> Personally, I went to school
for political science for
undergrad.
When I graduated, we had
financial crises in 2008, so no
jobs.
Went back to school for my mba.
Another financial crisis in
2009.
Throughout these times what has
really helped me sustain life is
restaurants and cafés and the
food industry.
>> Even though it is a specific
skill set industry, it is also
for most immigrants.
You you grow up cooking at home
anyway, you know.
So it's one of those that the
transition is just very simple.
Laura their experiences working
: In the industry
helped shape comfort kitchen, a
fine-dining establishment
staffed by a team from nine
different countries.
>> A lot of people have these
preconceived notions that when
you walk into an immigrant
restaurant or a black and brown
restaurant, it should be cheap,
styrofoam often it's only
, casual, fast, casual.
It's always in a neighborhood
that's not nice.
You know, the list goes on.
>> I want them to see we are not
just telling the story of
comfort kitchen as a restaurant.
We're telling the story of
Billy, who comes in at 6:00 A.M.
We're telling the story of amma,
who also comes in at 6:00 A.M.
Before the plate hits your
table, there are a lot of hands
that not only touch it, but care
for it.
And those hands are tied to
several livelihoods.
Laura: But while the food
industry has been a lifeline for
kwaa and rai, they believe much
about it still needs to change,
including the treatment.
>> The restaurant industry is
one of those industries which I
often say is the underbelly of
the United States.
If you want to change
immigration, you've got to look
into the restaurant industry.
And for us, that's been our
mission is to change that
dynamic.
Have immigrants in the front and
center talk about our food.
Talk about why immigrant food is
also American food.
Laura: So far, it is a formula
that is working.
Tables are often incredibly hard
to come by, and customers are
leaving happy, including this
one.
I could eat this rice all the
time.
For the pbs newshour, I'm Laura