From concept to menu to design, each element of the Kabul Social offering has been innovatively crafted by a talented group of female Afghan refugees.
Kabul Social is the newest addition to the Plate It Forward family, a social enterprise that creates change through food, providing thousands of meals each week, and employment opportunities to communities in need.
Housed within Sydney’s MetCentre, the casual takeaway and diner is bringing authentic Afghanistani flavour to the heart of Sydney’s CBD. The menu is split across three categories; dumplings, Kabuli ‘burgers’ and build-your-own lunchboxes featuring traditional generational recipes as well as new twists on modern street-food trends.
The Kabuli burger is an example of the latter, playfully called a ‘burger’ by the team, your choice of charcoal chicken, slow-cooked lamb, eggplant or pumpkin is folded between soft house-made Afghan bread with fries and ladened with your condiment of choice; red pepper or green chilli chutney, for a satiating and easy-to-eat lunch on-the-go. The customary Afghan bread is made fresh to order at by Kabul Social’s ‘Chief of Bread’, Yakut and is a must-try for any bread-lover.
Under a ‘Giving Squared’ model, every meal purchased at Kabul Social will see two meals donated to vulnerable Afghan communities in need. One meal is donated through charity partner Mahboba’s Promise to the community of widows and orphans in Afghanistan. The second meal through Plate it Forward to local communities here in Australia. Diners can see the impact of their purchase in real time as numbers of meals donated are updated on a digital display as they order.
Led by restaurant manager and Afghanistan refugee Swita, the Kabul Social team is comprised of talented Afghan women, some well established in Australia and some who have arrived in Australia as recently as October 2021 after fleeing their home country in search of a better life. For many it is their first time in employment, but after a month-long training program via Plate it Forward, the team are poised to seize all opportunities thrown their way and begin giving back to their communities.
The venue fit-out, generously donated by The Building Guild, proudly flaunts the symbolic blue colour synonymous with the city of Kabul. With just 25 seats for dine-in, you might want to get in quick on your lunch break, but in case you miss out on a seat, Kabul Social offer their full menu for for takeaway via their digital ordering system Mr Yum.
Find out more here.