Conflict Cafe Colombia

Talking Peace Festival 2015

We continue to collaborate with and support organizations that through their work help to create awareness, raise standards of living, and promote dialogue, peace and understanding within society. This autumn we are taking part in the Talking Peace Festival, organized by International Alert, one of the world’s leading peace-building organizations with nearly 30 years of experience laying the foundations for peace. They work with local people in over 25 countries around the world to help them build peace, and advise governments, organizations and companies on how to support peace.

The Talking Peace Festival is a unique arts and cultural platform designed to engage people in the most urgent issues of peace and conflict around the world, celebrating the UN’s International Day of Peace on 21 September. Since last year the Conflict Café was added to the festival, an innovative pop-up culinary experience that champions the idea of peace through food, and this year the Conflict Café is featuring Syria, Nepal, Colombia and Armenia. Sabor will be hosting three consecutive evenings with a menu featuring some of the Colombian Classic dishes on 23, 24 and 25 September.

For over 50 years, Colombia has been caught up in a war between left- and right-wing armed groups and state forces, drug trafficking and organized crime. Today, there is great potential to lay the foundations for lasting peace in Colombia. With a possible peace agreement being discussed, the door is open for addressing some of the structural causes of the conflict while ensuring that drivers of peace including implementation of the human rights system are also addressed. All the proceeds of this evening will go to support the work of International Alert.

Get your tickets here:

23 September 2015

24 September 2015

25 September 2015

Special thanks to Sal Alexander Photography for the images and video during the three days.

Really enjoyed the evening, it was interesting. I would have liked to hear more about Columbia and about the food and how the community is dealing with the conflict, the girl who spoke was fantastic. I enjoyed the quiz too.

Anna Mon, 28 Sep 2015

A friend and I got tickets for a Conflict Café: Columbia on Friday night and it exceeded all of our expectations. After some introductory speeches from the Columbian star speaker and the chef, Esnayder Cuartas (Sabor), we were straight onto the starters…a platter of empanadas, chorizo and scallops (fried in passion fruit butter with mango salsa, jalapeno- basil pesto and served on Andean corn-bread…mmm mm)
For mains, we were served generous portions of Cazuela del Pacifico, a classic stew of red snapper, sword fish, prawns, mussels, tomatoes and coconut milk, seasoned with chilli and coriander. I’ve had many disappointments in the past when it comes to fish and seafood being rubbery or over salted, so having all the seafood impeccably cooked in a stew together was very impressive and it really was the highlight of the meal. The speakers were thought-provoking, the other diners were sociable and it really was a brilliantly organised and executed evening!

Annabel-Zoe Mon, 28 Sep 2015

the food is indeed very well prepared and varied. The idea of holding the quiz and the periodic interruptions from the MC to explain a bit more about the peace negotiations in Colombia are good. The message is conveyed effectively.

Martin Sat, 26 Sep 2015