Cooking up the Conflict Kitchen

This story was sent in by a friend and is a great reminder that there are many ways, large and small, to share culture, commonalities and differences – all while building tolerance and perspective. Food is often a way of sharing culture and hospitality and as a bonus, the food at Kubideh Kitchen looks mouth-watering!

“Just today I came across this place called Kubideh Kitchen, which is a “conflict kitchen” in

Kubideh Kitchen storefront

my neighborhood here in Pittsburgh. It sells food from countries that the U.S. is in conflict with, such as Iran and Afghanistan.  While I couldn’t order any food this afternoon, I talked with the man working there who explained to me the concept of a conflict kitchen, and how the restaurant project hoped to get people talking and re-thinking their perceptions of other countries that we are in conflict with. When I picked up what looked like a menu, I discovered that the “menu” was a pamphlet of interviews from Iranians who shared their perspectives on everything from nuclear power to Iran’s position on the state of Israel.”

Preparing the Kubideh

The kitchen will rotate identities every four months to highlight another country the US is in conflict with. In addition to food, the kitchen will host events, performances and discussions about the culture and politics of the featured country. Developed in collaboration with members of Pittsburgh’s Iranian community, Kubideh Kitchen serves kubideh in freshly baked barbari bread with onion, mint and basil.

The menu/interview sheet is especially interesting.

We’re always looking for stories of people dealing with conflict in interesting ways. So if you have an interesting story send it our way!