At the restaurant Le Jardin Gourmand, in Lorient, a happy team rubs shoulders, in the dining room or in the kitchen. Two Afghans, a Malian and a Bangladeshi. Young people with bumpy paths who fled their country because they were in danger or orphaned. The latest arrivals, Mino and Maso, 21 and 25, were exfiltrated from Afghanistan when the Taliban regained power. The first is a make-up artist and sportswoman, the second is a journalist and won an award for a short film on the status of women. They are a target because they are women but also because they are of Hazara origin, an ethnic group persecuted by the predominantly Pashtun Taliban. They arrived in France thanks to the mobilization of theaters that hosted Afghan refugees in residence. Mino and Maso were supported by that of Lorient. “A call was made to accommodate them, we were touched by their situation and we had room at home so we received them”, soberly says Arnaud Beauvais, sommelier at the Jardin Gourmand.
surrogate parents
With his wife, chef Nathalie Beauvais, they welcomed Maso and Mino at the end of August as their own children. “They are now part of the family.” They offered them to train at the restaurant. “We can’t find French staff, they don’t respond to our offers so we work with refugees”, explains Nathalie Beauvais. She supports these young cooks and waiters as best she can and makes them love her job. “Arnaud and Nathalie are like my parents, without them I would never have thought of cooking,” says Mino. The young Afghan is on an internship and is still waiting for a document allowing her to start a professional contract in the kitchen. “I love to cook but for my family, guests, I had never done it in a restaurant,” she smiles. She mixes English and French but understands well thanks to courses at the University of South Brittany, in Lorient, and the mobilization of volunteers. The one she now considers her sister, Maso, has a harder time getting used to it. She should obtain her A1, essential level of French to be able to follow a training course. “French is difficult… I’m in the dining room because I don’t like cooking, I’m bad! With the customers, I sometimes speak English, they are a little surprised but very nice”.
Inspiration for chef Beauvais
After a few months at Nathalie and Arnaud’s home, Maso took off and moved into the shared apartment of Enayeth, 19, who arrived in France from Bangladesh in 2020. He fled death threats linked to a family dispute and found peace in the kitchens of Lorient. “I started with an internship, I’m very interested in traditional cuisine. I’m learning a lot in organization, in equipment and also in French”, rejoices the young cook who also sees Nathalie and Arnaud as parents. He will soon begin a professional certificate and sees himself as the holder of a professional baccalaureate. At the restaurant, Enayeth took 18-year-old Sekou under his wing. An orphan, he never went to school and was a shepherd for his uncle in Mali. The step is higher for the young African but he is voluntary. “I do all the parties, starters, desserts. I want to continue,” he explains in a small voice. The presence of these young foreigners greatly inspires chef Beauvais. “They have youth, dynamism and, with Maso and Mino at home, we eat differently. She tastes little by little our cooking, she doesn’t like butter but loves pancakes! With them, I discovered rice, which I never worked with and I cook a little more savory”, smiles the Breton chef.
letelegramme Fr Trans