After moving upstate from New York City, My Lucky Tummy founder Adam Sudmann said he wanted to establish a community, eat good food and meet interesting people.

On Saturday, My Lucky Tummy will host a pop-up cafeteria at the St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Cazenovia from 5-8 p.m. The restaurant, a nonprofit established in 2013, aims to bring cultures together through food while supporting refugees in the greater Syracuse area. Funds from the pop-up will go toward building welcome housing for refugees.

“This is what typically happens,” said Sudmann, who has hosted several pop-ups. “I have a grocery store spreadsheet. I make a map of all the stores I need to hit. I line up volunteers, block out a kitchen schedule, deal with permitting and insurance and then tickets go on sale.”

Sudmann finds people from all over the world to cook for the event and asks people he meets in the community to come cook for a flat rate. This year, he’s combined the foods and culture of Burma, Egypt, Pakistan, Vietnam and Syria. Each course of the meal will represent a different country.

Though St. Peter’s Episcopal Church does not typically host events like Sudmann’s, the reverends and staff said they are open to the experience.

“I think it’s especially important for the church to be involved,” said the Rev. Jeanne Hansknecht. “Throughout scripture, it calls us to welcome the stranger, and this is a very tangible way to do that.”

The pop-ups have attracted a range of people in the past, most of whom leave enthusiastic about food and the organization, Sudmann said. There are generally two events per year, but he said he dreams to establish a “permanent multinational food court.”

Alongside the Cazenovia event will be another dinner on Oct. 23 in collaboration with the Welcoming Economies Global Network and Daniel Cowen, deputy director of Economic Inclusion.

“At that event we are bringing in different organizations from across the country,” Cowen said. “It is a chance to highlight diverse and amazing communities here in Syracuse to a broader swatch of community members from across the country.”

Besides this collaborative kitchen event, Economic Inclusion works with underserved entrepreneurs, which often includes refugees. Cowen and Sudmann said they hope to collaborate again in the future.

Sudmann is also the owner of the restaurant With Love, Burma. Though it is separate from My Lucky Tummy, the food hub harbors the same spirit.

Sudmann recently collaborated with Romita Ray, a Syracuse University professor and art historian. At the restaurant, the two gathered professors and creative people from the Syracuse area to have a PechaKucha style presentation and a discussion about ideas and food.

“We widened the repertoire of the restaurant and gave it a life of its own,” Ray said. “All of us had an engaging discussion after the event and these talks were fantastic.”

The restaurant will welcome a wide range of events like this in the future with the same open arms that welcome chefs from around the world. Sudmann said he hopes to expand both the restaurant and My Lucky Tummy to fill more bellies, raise more money and meet more people.

Tickets for the pop-up cafeteria are limited but can be purchased on the restaurant’s website.

Published on October 15, 2017 at 8:14 pm

Contact Sarah: ssallam@syr.edu