
Seppe Nobels
Newcomers enrich the kitchen
A former canteen for shipbuilders and metalworkers in Antwerp’s port now houses Instroom. This project is somewhere between a training centre and a dining experience. The people working in the kitchen and serving the food fled their own countries for political or economic reasons, in search of a better future. Based on their cultural contributions, Instroom offers a new approach to fusion cooking.
"I think it is deeply wrong to demand that new residents abandon everything from the countries they left behind. We should be inviting them to share as much as they can of their own ways of life."
War victims tell me these remained the most important moments of their day, even in the shelters,” the chief noted in the same interview. In testament to the project’s success, the team was awarded a green Michelin star this year. Perhaps even more significantly, 95% of the first group of trainees have meanwhile found jobs.