Translating refugee culinary cultures

Abstract

Abstract Several non-profit organizations provide asylum claimants in Hong Kong a platform to engage in activities that help them integrate into the local community. These activities include sharing food and recipes with the aim of introducing Hongkongers to refugee cultures. Based on interviews with representatives from two charities and analysis of two cookbooks and a website with food-related refugee stories, this article investigates food preparation by asylum seekers as a translation activity influenced by food materiality and its cultural significance. The analysis reveals how food and its preparation, when examined as community translation events and products, serves as a tool for intercultural mediation that allows refugees and asylum seekers to communicate their culture and negotiate their place in the local community, helping establish meaningful connections with the local population.