ESCP ALUMNI magazine - Special Issue 2022 - 50

Career ❙ Story
By Éric Maggiori
Food Sweet Food:
When cooking helps
refugees
Marine MANDRILA (12)
et Louis MARTIN (13)
founders of Refugee Food Festival
1
2.30pm sharp. The sounds of pots and
silverware merge with the prevailing
hubbub in the already crowded room.
We are in Ground Control, a former postal
sorting centre in Paris which, in 1918, was
turned into a hybrid venue where you can
eat, drink, and listen to music. People are
queuing between a stall of Greek food and
a stall of Italian food, in front of a counter
called " La Résidence " . It was created in
February 2018 and offered a new concept;
for six to eight months, it hosts refugee
cooks for their rehabilitation. They can try
their new meals before, maybe, opening
their own restaurant. The menu of Chef
Harouna Sow, who is currently in place,
practically tells where he is from - accras,
alokos, aubergine mafé, chicken Yassa.
Considering the number of people waiting,
his western African recipes seem to be a hit.
50 ❙
This " residence for entrepreneur-cooks " is one
of Marine Mandrila and Louis Martin's projects.
They co-founded Food Sweet Food
only nine years ago. " In 2012, Marine and I
created the association to promote the traditions
and cooking expertise from all over the world, "
says Louis while eating an attiéké made by
his crew. " A year later, we travelled the world
together. The idea was simply to cook and eat
with locals. Food is a great social vehicle. We
thought it was the best way to open to new
cultures and build something strong. " That's
the story of Marine and Louis : cooking
and eating with total strangers in Peru,
Mexico, Thailand, Vietnam, Nepal, Lebanon,
or Japan. With their camera, they filmed
and took pictures of everything. When
they came back, they wrote a book about
their adventure - Very Food Trip - in 2015.
G
Marine MANDRILA (12) and Louis MARTIN (13), ESCP Alumni and founders of the Food Sweet
Food association, have been voted Alumni of the Year in the " For Good " category. Over the past ten
years, they have created a fest for refugee cooks, opened a restaurant (La Résidence) where refugee
chefs try their recipes, and have launched several food aid programmes. Let's talk about their story.
" A production company contacted us. They
thought we could make mini-documentaries, "
says Marine. " We said: 'That's perfect timing,
we have 300 hours of footage!' " Very Food
Trip became a TV show of several episodes
broadcast on Planète.
Highlighting other traditions and
cooking heritage
Before that, their project was just about
cooking and people, not migrants and
refugees. Everything changed in 2016, as
Louis and Marine were about to go on
another trip around the world to film new
episodes. " In 2015, there was a huge wave of
ESCP Alumni Magazine Special issue ❙ 2022
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ESCP ALUMNI magazine - Special Issue 2022

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