Flavors From Afar is a restaurant with a rotating international menu. Each month, we partner with The Tiyya Foundation to locate refugees and asylum seekers that are interested in sharing their traditional, homecooked dishes. By partnering with refugees, we bring to Los Angeles authentic cuisine that highlights different cultures and flavors that are often not available anywhere else.

At our core, we believe that sharing a meal is a delicious opportunity for cultural exchange. Food unites people at the table - nourishing bodies, feeding minds, and fostering respect across diverse culture.

Every month, a new refugee chef develops the menu and teaches our head chef and refugee kitchen staff to how to prepare their favorite dishes from home. 5% of all proceeds, before profit, are paid directly to the chef that created the dish. So far, we’ve celebrated food from Somalia, Kenya, Egypt, Palestine, Afghanistan, Guatemala and more. At Flavors from Afar, each meal is inspired by the chefs’ rich histories, cultural creativity, and several thousand-mile journey as a refugee.

Flavors launched in 2018 when Meymuna Hussein-Cattan, a former refugee and founder of the Tiyya Foundation, started a small catering company to help support the Foundation’s program and services. The Tiyya Foundation provides long lasting and sustainable assistance to refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers by offering programs specializing in economic advancement, supporting women & children, and providing community development.

Prior to 2018, Tiyya was reliant on government grants, but in 2016 the political landscape changed and government funding was no longer available. Through her work with refugees, and by hosting community dinners, Meymuna was able to identify talented cooks from all over the world and began catering corporate events, weddings, and parties.

Inspired by Flavors’ success as a catering company, Meymuna partnered with Christian Davis to open a brick and motor restaurant in Little Ethiopia. We opened our doors on March 21st, 2020. Almost immediately, Covid-19 safer-at-home orders went into effect. Our first year has been a challenge, but we continue to support refugees and share authentic, inspired food from around the globe.