Every Labor Day weekend, the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) hosts and InterNASHional Food Crawl event where participants travel to over 60 immigrant-owned restaurants in Nashville, tasting cuisines from all around the world. This year, the event has shifted for obvious safety reasons, and is now called the InterNASHional Food Series, and is spread out over the months of September & October. Today we're chatting with Leah Hashinger, Development Director at the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition to learn a little more about the event. Later in this episode, you’ll hear from two chefs who are participating in the event -- Mangal Tamang of Radjdhani Groceries & Cafe and Lokelani Alabanza of SATURATED Ice Cream.

Jackie Nguyen doesn’t actually own a food business—yet. She is in the process of launching her business, Cafe Cà Phê, yes—during a pandemic. Jackie launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for Kansas City’s first Vietnamese mobile coffee shop, and she exceeded her fundraising goal and is on her way to opening. Later this month, she’ll be serving her first cup of Vietnamese coffee in Kansas City at local events and pop-up spaces.

Berty Richter is the owner and chef of an Israeli street food restaurant in Austin, Texas. Berty was born and raised in Israel to an American-Hungarian father and a Turkish mother, in a home that cared deeply about food and gathering around the table. Now Berty is bringing his family’s food to the Austin community through his restaurant, TLV.

Today we’re talking with Serigne Mbaye, a 26-year-old Senagalese chef based in New Orleans. Even with just a few years of professional cooking experience, Serigne has been getting a lot of attention for his passion for introducing Americans to Senagalese food. He was named an Eater Young Gun in 2018, and he’s worked in Michelin starred restaurants in both San Francisco and New York, but now he’s found his home in New Orleans where he’s hosting regular pop-up dinners exploring the connections between the foods of Louisiana and Senegal.

Today we’re talking with Siri Tan, chef and owner of Urban Burma in Denver, Colorado. In April 2019, Siri opened the first Burmese restaurant in Denver, located inside the Mango House, which is a “shared space for resettled refugees.” Siri had very little restaurant or cooking experience prior to opening Urban Burma, but he was determined to teach himself everything he needed to know to be successful. 

Ria Barbosa and her business partners are the definition of resilient—they opened their restaurant, Petite Peso, in the middle of a pandemic. While it wasn’t the ideal time to launch a new business, they’ve made it work by pivoting their menu into a more grab-and-go style eatery with lunch and dinner items. The menu at Petite Peso is full of Filipino classics, but with a little inspiration from Ria’s traditional French culinary training. We sat down with Ria to talk about the innovative menu at Petite Peso and the challenges of opening a restaurant during a pandemic.

This week, we've got a 2 part episode. We'll start by catching up with Yia Vang from episode 1 who is launching a podcast with his buddy, David Crabb. 

Then we'll chat with March Herro from Pitas in Columbia, SC. Marc was only 17 years old when his family decided to immigrate to the US from Lebanon. Arriving just after 9/11, Marc found himself living in a part of the country that wasn’t exactly welcoming to immigrants, particularly immigrants from the Middle East. After finding his way at a new school, learning a new language, and adjusting to a new culture, Marc now owns and operates one of the city’s most popular Mediterranean restaurants, Pita’s. We spoke with Marc to learn more about his family, how he learned to cook, and the legacy he wants to leave behind.

Javier Sandes of Javi’s Cooking in Oakland had big plans to play soccer professionally, but after sustaining multiple injuries, he had to find a new dream. His second passion for cooking became a way for him to meet people in his community, share his culture with new friends, and make a little money to survive. It wasn’t long before Javi realized making empanadas was more than just a hobby—it had the potential of being a huge business. We sat down with Javi to hear how his humble empanada business turned into a massive operation over just a few years. 

Mayra Velazquez of the restaurant Xingones in Oakland truly embodies the idea of taking care of our communities and putting our communities first. You’ll hear in her story how she has set her own needs aside throughout the pandemic to make sure her restaurant family had a place to sleep, food to eat, and a way to support their families. Mayra reminds us of how important it is to be thoughtful about the businesses we support and how we spend our money—even one meal at a restaurant can make a direct impact on the livelihood of the workers there. 

We sat down with Joel Rivas, founder of Saint City Culinary Foundation, to talk about his program called “Heard,” whose mission is to support the sustainability and wellness of men and women in the restaurant and bar industry. The program started in San Antonio, but quickly spread to other cities and is now available to hospitality workers nationwide through online support. While mental health is always something that should be talked about, we think now is more important than ever to normalize anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders as so many of us are experiencing tough times throughout the pandemic. There is no shame in asking for help. 

Content warning: adult language