Our Open Arms Cookbook is here
Posted: 3rd December 2025
This vibrant celebration of culture, connection, and the healing power of food has been created by unaccompanied young people from asylum-seeking and refugee backgrounds who have arrived in Thanet alone.
Featuring over 31 culinary inspirations, with stories and photos, the book is more than a collection of recipes. Every delicious dish tells a story of memory and belonging. Through its pages, readers will taste the incredible community spirit created at this social club, dedicated to supporting these brave 13- to 21-year-olds as they arrive and settle in East Kent. It’s a joyful invitation to explore new flavours, share stories, and simply have a go.
The Open Arms Cookbook celebrates the rich cultures and new connections and sense of home that can come through sharing a meal together. It offers a slice of hope.
Cooking Ghormeh Sabzi, an Iranian herb stew, brings up happy memories of home for Ali*. They’ve been coming to Open Arms since they arrived in the UK alone at the age of 12. Whenever they cook during sessions, they will request this dish, because it reminds them of the times when they ate it with their family at big events and gatherings.
“At Open Arms, we’ve cooked and tasted delicious dishes from across the globe, listening to the stories and memories evoked only when in the kitchen or sitting around the table.
Sharing a dish isn’t just about the food itself, it’s a way of learning something about someone else: who taught you to cook this? What place does this dish hold in your culture? When did you last eat this? We’ve seen how cooking and eating together holds a healing power for the young people who come to Open Arms – offering a way to connect and a chance to feel pride and a sense of home.”
Moa – Open Arms Project lead
Since 2022, Pie has held 157 Open Arms sessions, welcoming over 600 young people from 29 nationalities and cooking 157 fresh meals together.
“This cookbook is for anyone who wants to explore food from across the world, and it is also a resource for foster carers wanting ideas for how to cook with and for the young people in their care.
Buying this book also helps us gift these books for free to refugee or asylum-seeking young people now living alone and cooking for themselves.” – Dylane, Foster carer
Every cookbook purchased helps nourish Thanet’s young people today, to fuel a positive future for them all tomorrow.
Get your Open Arms Cookbook today for £15 – and make a difference this Christmas with every bite. Order at https://shop.piefactorymusic.com/.
