Conflict Cuisine—sponsored by SIS and AU Kitchen on March 5—brought together food experts from across DC to discuss how cooking is a form of diplomacy and celebrate the 10th anniversary of a popular SIS class.
Sileshi Alifom of Das Ethiopian Restaurant
The main course of the afternoon was a panel discussion moderated by The Washington Post food reporter Tim Carman. Panelists included Fernando Gonzalez and Debby Portillo of 2Fifty Texas BBQ on K Street; Irena Stein of Alma Cocina Latina in Baltimore; Sileshi Alifom, president of Das Ethiopian in Georgetown; and Téa Ivanovic, cofounder of Immigrant Food on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Though panelists came from different backgrounds, each shared how the dining table is a gathering place that creates community. In a restaurant, Alifom said, “people have different ideas [and] different political views, but while they’re eating, they’re all eating from the same plate.”
Alifom came to the United States from Ethiopia for college in 1970 and eventually settled in DC, which has the largest Ethiopian American community in the country. Ethiopian restaurants here started as a gathering place for Ethiopian immigrants; the food itself was secondary. But the cuisine has since become fully integrated into the local food scene, Alifom said.
“Second generation Ethiopians are opening up restaurants that are upscale,” he said. “They want to make sure they’re competing. The next thing you’re going to see is Ethiopian spices added to your local favorite restaurant.”
