This restaurant in northern NSW is transforming lives

Lamb koftas, tikka skewers and falafel biryani are flying off the menu at the Ezidi Place restaurant. But that's not the reason why this eatery is making news.

This restaurant in northern NSW is transforming lives

By Akash Arora

Updated April 1, 2025, first published October 14, 2022

In partnership with the Plate it Forward charity, a restaurant in Armidale, NSW, is giving back by employing Ezidi refugees.

Lamb koftas, tikka skewers and falafel biryani are flying off the menu at the Ezidi Place restaurant. But that's not the reason why this eatery, part of the Comfort Inn motel in NSW's Armidale, is making news.

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More than 600 Ezidi refugees, who fled persecution in northern Iraq, now call Armidale home. And the Ezidi Place is not only paying homage to the rich culture and cuisine of the western Asian region, but - in partnership with the Plate it Forward charity - it is also transforming the lives of members of the Ezidi community by employing and training them.

Nine refugees are currently working in the kitchen and learning valuable skills, with one dollar from each meal going to Plate it Forward, which uses the funds to upskill the restaurant's workforce.

Words byAkash Arora

Akash is the Deputy Travel Editor for Australian Community Media. He has lived and worked in four cities around the world – Sydney, London, New Delhi and New York – and, at last count, travelled to 42 countries.

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