Plateful Cafe needs a home… As some of our readers may remember, Plateful Café was at Parkside from June 2023 to April 2024 – first as a hospitality training space for our refugees, and then as a vibrant community café serving a Syrian-inspired menu. For many of our chefs, Parkside was an extremely important space that allowed them to learn
The Christmas with Plateful Cafe! Dear Readers, As we reach the final chapter of the year, the Plateful Cafe team is filled with gratitude and festive excitement! With new experiences on the horizon for 2026, continued growth in our pop-ups and private catering, and more beneficiaries stepping into employment, there is so much to be hopeful for in the year
And end of year note from Iolanda Thank you for your support in what has been quite the rollercoaster year for Plateful Café. The biggest challenge ever remains the lack of a permanent venue. Despite an ever-increasing demand for our catering services, presence at pop ups and events, we continue to cook and deliver food from my house. In 2025
How the war began The current war in Sudan started on 15 April 2023, when the Janjaweed militias, known today as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), attacked the presidential palace in Khartoum and attempted to capture the head of Sudan’s government, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. The Sudanese army fought back and very quickly, fighting spread across the cities. These
Our First Wedding We couldn’t be more delighted to share that Plateful Café has just catered our very first wedding, celebrating the beautiful union of Anne-Marie and Gideon. It was an honour to be entrusted with such a special occasion, and we send our heartfelt congratulations to the couple as they begin this exciting new chapter together. A huge thank you
Meet Refugee Aref Aref is a Kurd from Afrin, Syria, he came to the UK seeking safety and the chance to rebuild a life marked by years of conflict, multiple displacement with his family, persecution, discrimination and instability. Aref arrived in the UK hoping for dignity, stability, and the opportunity to contribute. But shortly after his arrival, the UK
My Work Experience I’m Hadis, a Persian woman, who came to the UK around 4 years ago. I worked as a physiotherapist back home and hadn’t any experience working at a cafe before immigrating to the UK. My first experience working in a cafe started with Plateful Cafe, where I learned to work as a chef, barista, cashier and
Setting up our stall This Easter Sunday, we had the absolute pleasure of setting up a Plateful Café stall at SET Social in Peckham, and what a lovely day it was. The atmosphere was relaxed, and we were surrounded by great people, great stalls and served plenty of delicious food. We dished up a special menu comprising of wraps
A couple of weeks ago, we hosted an Iranian meal private fundraising event for 18 people to raise funds for Plateful. It was such a pleasure to work alongside this charity and enjoy having people round our table that all shared a desire to help refugees in the UK. Fundraising Ideas It was held in our house in Brockley.
