Socially responsible restaurants: fostering cultural exchanges, social cohesion and gastronomy for the greater good

SIS ProActif has launched its own restaurant in Contern. It's called Zopp & Z'Iessen. One of its principles is "To cook like in the good old days". Its name, "Zopp & Z'Iessen - which literally translates as "soup & to eat", echoes the recurring reply of endless mothers of yesteryear when asked by their children: "Mamm, wat kachs de?" (Mummy, what are you cooking?). This tradition is upheld in the restaurant through its delicious, hearty and freshly cooked dishes prepared with regional ingredients.

The restaurant also has a social dimension. It employs people who have not always been lucky in life. These individuals are trained and reassigned to the labour market as employees of SIS ProActif. They also work to furnish the premises and grow fruit and vegetables in their own gardens.

At present, the restaurant is open from Monday to Friday. It offers a daily menu and an "à la carte" menu with local Luxembourgish classics and a few twists on culinary favourites. You can also place orders to takeaway.

Located in Belvaux, Eis Brasserie Boulodrome promotes responsible consumption by selling regional, organic and fair-trade products, which are showcased in their cuisine with creativity, care, culinary flair. At present, the brasserie offers a daily menu from Monday to Friday, and you can also select dishes from the “à la carte” menu.

Eis Brasserie Boulodrome has been set up by Eis Épicerie, a project initiated by the EcoSol Sane asbl and the cooperative and SIS EpiSol Sanem. It goes without saying that the brewery is thus closely aligned to the values of the project: environmentally friendly, social and socially responsible in the spirit of the circular economy.

After your meal, you can also do your shopping in the grocery shop, which is open to all customers. You'll find products from sheltered workshops, depending on availability. These products help people back into the workplace, in a location that promotes social diversity and cohesion.

Social inclusion and diversity is at the heart of the Chiche! restaurants, offering homemade Lebanese cuisine and authentic Middle Eastern flavours. The first temporary restaurant was born out of the desire of a few friends to create a social restaurant by employing people from all backgrounds who have difficulty finding a job but have amazing skills. The project now covers four permanent addresses: in the Bonnevoie and Limpertsberg districts of Luxembourg City, as well as in Esch-sur-Alzette and Leudelange. Chiche! ​ currently employs 55 migrants and refugees in its four restaurants.

The concept remains unchanged: the premises are decorated using second-hand objects to limit investment and maximise the social impact for all those involved.

The United Nations Refugee Agency has described the project as an inspiring model, enabling refugees to play a more active role in their new country.

The gastronomic restaurant Madame Witzeg in Belvaux is a social project that fosters the often underestimated potential of people with Down's syndrome, better known as Trisomy 21. A significant proportion of the members of staff have this syndrome or another disability.

This inclusive restaurant is a project initiated by Trisomie 21, an association dedicated to helping people with Down's Syndrome to lead as independent and fulfilled a life as possible in all areas of society. It also holds the protected workshop label from the Ministry for the Family: It is a workplace where the structure and operational side has been fully adapted to the specific needs and individual abilities of people with disabled employee status.

It is open from Monday to Friday and offers a regional and international range of small dishes for greater variation.

The Pfaffenthal district of Luxembourg City is home to the headquarters of the Ecological Movement and its regional brewery: Oekosoph.

The brewery's culinary philosophy is to use regional produce as much as possible to create vegetarian and vegan dishes. These dishes take pride of place on their menu alongside an invitation to reduce meat consumption in order to help protect animals and the climate. When served, the meat meets strict origin and farming criteria called "nose to tail".

The premises also embraces the concept of recycling by giving new life to old café furniture, which is lovingly restored and integrated into a modern setting.

From Monday to Friday, Oekosoph offers a daily lunch menu. From Wednesday onwards, an evening menu complements the culinary offering. Opening days and times vary according to the season.

In the centre of Esch-sur-Alzette, Kaf Lokal is a location that combines a shop, a snack bar and artistic creations. Kaf Lokal captures the spirit of the social economy and focuses on local products.

In the restaurant, Kaf Lokal offers cold and warm dishes to takeaway or eat on site. They are prepared using local or organic products from the Den Escher Geméisguart and Kalendula projects of the Centre d'initiative et de gestion local – CIGL Esch. Den Escher Geméisguart is a pilot project aimed at producing organic vegetables. Kalendula is an ecologically managed garden that promotes environmental education and is open to the general public. Both initiatives employ and train people who are being reintegrated into the labour market in the field of market gardening.

A wide range of goods are available in the boutique: food products as well as soaps and cosmetics. They all have one thing in common, the ingredients are locally sourced. This philosophy is also felt throughout the premises, which is decorated with works by local designers.

At present, Kaf Lokal is open Monday to Saturday from 10.00 to 18.00.

Taking its name from a historic town and province in the snow-capped mountains of central Afghanistan, Bamyan is a family friendly restaurant serving authentic Afghan cuisine on the banks of the Alzette in Luxembourg City.

It was the first Afghan restaurant to open its doors in Luxembourg in 2022. The two couples who started the restaurant (the Modasirs and the Etemadis) are keen to showcase authentic Afghan specialities, such as Ashak (vegetable dumplings in a lentil sauce) or Qabuli (an aromatic rice dish with marinated beef and caramelised carrots).

To mark World Refugee Day 2023, the Brussels office of the 'United Nations Refugee Agency selected this restaurant as one of the most inspiring businesses founded by or employing refugees.

At present, Bamyan is open Monday to Friday from 9.30 to 15.30.

Eis Kichen is an inclusive restaurant located in Wiltz, managed by Coopérations (non-profit association, cooperative and SIS). The daily menu is simple but satisfies all tastes: a soup and three main courses. The "Tradi", a typical Luxembourg dish; the "Geméizing", a vegan dish with a trilogy of local organic vegetables; and the "Dal mondo", a dish based on an international classic with a touch of Eis Kichen, which is available in certain weeks as the "Eis Burger".

It holds the protected workshop label from the Ministry of the Family and its team is mainly composed of people with special needs. Coopérations offers permanent work and training to people with disabilities through a network of inclusion workshops.

At present, Eis Kichen is open from Monday to Friday at lunchtime.