Food Solidarity Podcast Episode #6 Nora Fitzgerald- Amal Center
In episode 6 of the Food Solidarity Podcast, we speak with Nora Fitzgerald, founder of Amal Center.
Amal is located in Marrakesh, Morrocco, and is both a restaurant and a culinary training program that empowers women to work within the food industry. Like many organizations and restaurants this year, COVID has disrupted Amal's practices and forced Nora and her team to respond in a way that is driven by creativity and service.
Before the Pandemic, Amal was running 6-month training programs that foster learning through the various positions within the restaurant world. The training that they experience is much more than just vocational.
Restaurants like Amal bridge communities. Populated by tourists and residents of one of Marrakesh's more affluent neighborhoods, Amal Center serves as a meeting point between worlds. For some of these women, the experience of gastronomy and interacting with people from around the world is fresh and new.
"The guests who come to Amal, yeah they come for the food- but more so for to honor these women and the path they are on in life," said Nora.
The women at Amal have time during their training program to try all of the roles that make up a restaurant, from front-of-the-house to the back. As anyone who has worked in the restaurant industry very well knows, these positions require versatility, adaptability, and a certain type of character. As the program continues, the women focus on the roles that are best suited to their personality and workstyle.
Amal is about empowering these women to work within the fast-paced and intricate world of gastronomy. Nora says, "it's not about parachuting a model of empowerment, but it's about what really works in the community. It's coming from the community."
Since the start of the lockdown back in March, Nora and the team at Amal have been responding to the needs of their community by serving meals to families and hospital workers in need. Their efforts continue as people are feeling the economic effects of the crisis now more than before, as savings are mostly depleted.
In a post-pandemic world, Nora shares the hope that "we make sure to value the people who work in the food industry as much as we value the food itself."
Listen to the full episode to learn more about Amal's training model, response to COVID-19, and vision of a healthy future.