WASHINGTON — Since taking over as the executive chef in 2023, Benjamin Murray has curated the menu at Immigrant Food to encompass an expansive global taste, representing what the restaurant's name is all about.
As a native of Japan, Chef Murray included menu items inspired by his culture, whether it’s as simple as a miso Caesar salad or his take on a takoyaki or a Japanese-influenced meatballs.
More than a year since his introduction to the District, Murray is helping elevate the restaurant’s mission of “Gastroadvocacy,” at a time when attention on immigration seems more important than ever.
May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, and Murray said recognizing what the month is all about means acknowledging the experience and accomplishments of the immigrant community in our country.
“We celebrate, educate, and advocate on behalf of immigrants,” Murray told WUSA9. “Being an immigrant is one of the hardest, bravest, and most courageous things you could do. Moving to a different country where you don’t know the culture and building a new life.”
Immigrant Food partners with different organizations that serve the local immigrant population including the AANHPI community. The organizations dictate how the restaurant helps them, whether by donating restaurant space for meetings, sharing events and volunteer opportunities in Immigrant Food’s weekly “Engagement Menu,” spearheading donation campaigns, or any initiative unique to that organization.
Immigrant Food also takes on one immigration-related issue a month in The Think Table, a monthly digital magazine.
Among the organizations Immigrant Food works with is the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center (APALRC). Executive Director Naznin Saifi said the group provides legal services primarily pertaining to immigration, offers a program to work tenants and has anti-Asian hate campaign.
With roughly 300 to 400 clients every year, Saifi said the need for services is vital as the topic of immigration can be a hard subject to navigate. She said working with Immigrant Food since 2019, when the restaurant opened its first location near the White House, has allowed them to highlight what the community has endured and how immigration laws impact individuals.
“They’ve really highlighted the work that we do,” Saifi said. “They don't only highlight legal programs, but look at immigrant issues not just from the AAPI community, but from all different aspects.”
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