Emma’s Torch Cafe in Brooklyn is Helping Newcomers to the U.S. Find Employment and Community
Emma’s Torch Cafe in Brooklyn is Helping Newcomers to the U.S. Find Employment and Community
At Emma’s Torch Cafe in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, good food, community and a commitment to welcoming newcomers to the United States are on the menu every day. Large windows, a mural with a reproduction of Emma Lazarus’ famous poem, The New Colossus, and a sign proudly announcing the cafe’s mission, “Empowering Refugees Through Culinary Education,” welcome patrons to the Smith Street cafe.
A non-profit social enterprise, Emma’s Torch Cafe provides refugees and newcomers to the U.S. with in-depth culinary training. Throughout the program, students learn in both a classroom and an apprentice setting, gaining practical hospitality experience in the cafe and through Emma’s Torch catering business.
“Our model is an 11-week fully paid culinary training program for our newest neighbors,” says Kira O’Brien, Chief Impact Officer at Emma’s Torch. “Students start with four and a half weeks of classroom training that is 60 percent culinary skills and 40 percent equity, employability and empowerment skills.”
Left to right: Kira, Alex and Giorgi stand outside Emma’s Torch Cafe in Carroll Gardens
The incorporation of equity, employability and empowerment skills in Emma’s Torch program is a recognition of the diverse pathways that its students take to arrive in the U.S. and to enroll in the culinary program. Many have fled war, violence and persecution in their home countries, and the Emma’s Torch approach is one way to create a classroom that is trauma-informed and welcoming to English language learners.
“Our students have amazing professional experiences in their home countries,” continues Kira. “We are not erasing that. We are trying to build upon it and help them harness it in such a way that they will thrive in the U.S.”
After more than four weeks in the classroom, students move into the cafe’s operations as line cooks and food prep for practical application of what they learn in the classroom.
A student prepares food in the Emma’s Torch kitchen.
Giorgi, an alum of Emma’s Torch culinary program, now working in the hospitality industry in New York City, arrived in New York in 2022 after fleeing his home in Georgia, a country in the Caucasus region on the coast of the Black Sea, due to political instability. He had previous experience working in restaurants back in Georgia, but his limited English language skills and lack of community made finding employment a struggle.
“I accidentally found a webpage on a [New York State] government site, and there was a link to a culinary project…you get paid, you are prepared for the culinary industry. So I applied,” reflects Giorgi with a smile. The webpage Giorgi accidentally found was The New American Resources and Self-Service Tools through the New York State Department of Labor. He found a link to Emma’s Torch under the “Culinary Training Programs that Serve Asylum Seekers” section of the website.
Giorgi, a graduate of the culinary education program, sits in Emma’s Torch Cafe.
While in the culinary education program, Giorgi was a student of Alex Harris, Senior Director of Culinary Education at Emma’s Torch. “What we're thinking about around culinary education and preparing somebody for a job is the technical skills and some of the quote-unquote intangible things that go along with getting and keeping a job,” Alex says. For Alex, kitchen vocabulary, learning about measurements, recipe reading and consistency are some of those intangibles.
“A really important skill that is critical when you think about working in the hospitality industry is being consistent as a part of a business. It's your job to make sure guest A has the same experience as guest B and guest C.”
After graduating, Giorgi, like all graduates of Emma’s Torch culinary education program, received job placement support and ongoing professional development to help him reach his goals.
“So now I'm here in New York. I'm rebuilding my future,” says Giorgi. “Home is not a place anymore for me. It's more like a feeling. It's people, community, and the space where you feel safe, and you can do what you love.”
How to Help...
USA for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, supports the full journey of refugees who have been forced to flee violence, war and persecution. Our donors help refugees in their greatest time of need with shelter, food, water and medical care, and their support builds awareness for resettled refugees living in the U.S. With your help, more refugees will have the opportunity to build peaceful lives and give their families a bright future.
