- Today on "Table for All," meet the expats making a big impact.

We're off to Governors Island to meet an Eritrean chef, hopping into the kitchen with refugees making their way one plate at a time, and learning the art of flavor with a Ghanaian spice queen.

Woo!

[bright upbeat music] It's no secret the ferry is one of the best ways to take in the killer views of New York City, but it's also the ticket to some of the best East African food in the Big Apple.

Tucked away On Governors Island, you'll find Makina, an Eritrean and Ethiopian restaurant serving up classic East African cuisine with a fast-casual twist.

Owner and chef, Eden Egziabher, started Makina in 2017 with a food truck.

Eden grew up in a colorful mix of Ethiopian, Eritrean and Italian culture, so it's no accident that Makina translates to "truck" in all three languages.

In 2018, Makina made its way to Governors Island and has been feeding satisfied customers ever since.

Eden.

- Hi, Buki!

- How are you?

Eden invited me on a tour of the island and to taste the best that Ethiopia and Eritrea have to offer.

- I'm so glad you're here.

We're gonna be using these bikes to get around the island.

- In this outfit?

- In this outfit.

- In this outfit, I don't know.

- Let's go.

- Cars aren't allowed on the island, so the best way to see the sights is by bicycle.

Yeah, I literally have not ridden a bike in a while.

Help!

[both laugh] [bright upbeat music] You have a gorgeous view.

- Oh my God, yes.

- Every single day of the year.

How incredible is that?

- It's so beautiful, yeah.

- Named Paggank, or Nut Island, by the Lenape people after its plentiful hickory, oak, and chestnut trees, Governors Island was a military base for most of its history.

But since its decommissioning in 1996, it's turned into a public park filled with playgrounds, vistas, public art, environmental programs, food, drink, and even a maritime-focused public high school.

Woo!

- Woo!

- [Buki] Thank God for pilates.

Before she schooled me in the kitchen, Eden took me to see the best views on the island, and shared with me her origin story.

- They were looking for a unique food vendor on Governors Island.

And so I was like, sure, you know, let me give it a try.

I didn't even know where Governors Island was, to be quite honest with you.

And then I came here with my food truck.

And ever since then, we've just been so in love with the island.

And last year we got the opportunity to be permanent at Governors Island.

And so that's how we ended up having our stall.

I want people to have a true experience when it comes to Ethiopian and Eritrean food.

My childhood was so vibrant, and so I wanted to be able to tell that story, 'cause what makes New York so great is the diversity of it.

And so I realized that there is room for people like me.

Let's take a look at this view.

Look at this.

- Now, this is a view.

- This is a view.

- Wow.

Soaking in the vistas of Governors Island puts into perspective how Eden's childhood, immersed in the conflicts of Ethiopia and Eritrea, has defined her food and mission.

When war broke out between Ethiopia and Eritrea in 1998, Eden's whole family was torn apart.

Her mother, who was visiting the US at the time, was barred from coming back to Ethiopia.

Her father fled to nearby Kenya, and Eden and her sister had to be raised by guardians until finally joining her father before landing in the United States and reuniting with their mother.

- The minute that we left Ethiopia, we just almost put on, like, a survival hat.

We're like, all right, we have to learn high school, we have to learn English, we have to learn American culture.

We have to understand, like, this is our new life, and go.

So you didn't have too much time to really meditate and look back at your past and what you left.

And so I felt like I was able to redeem somewhat of my unfinished story caused by war by talking about food, because food kind of brings all of this together.

- [Buki] And that togetherness can be summed up in one word, "Habesha."

Often used as a term of pride, Eden says the word "Habesha" is used to eliminate the distinction between different tribes of Eritrea and Ethiopia, and celebrates the unity of these people of the same region.

- I love the word "Habesha" because when I say "Habesha," it's kind of talking about the people, all in all.

- Well, come and show me how this Habesha is done.

- [laughs] I hope you're ready to cook.

- You made me bike, you made me walk, you made me climb.

Let's go to the kitchen.

- Let's go to the kitchen [laughs].

- [Buki] A hop, skip, and a bike later, and Eden and I made it back to the Makina food stall to show me how she brings the Eritrean and Ethiopian cultures together through food.

- So today we're gonna make tibs, particularly chicken tibs.

Tibs is a style of cooking, very similar to a stir-fry.

Any type of meat that you like, marinated, mixed in with some of these beautiful spices that we have.

- Looks marinated to perfection.

- Marinated to perfection.

And we're gonna toss in, woo, our chicken.

- And that is sizzling.

- It is nice and sizzling.

You wanna make sure that it gets nice and brown and crispy at the bottom, so we're gonna leave it like this for a couple of minutes, let it cook.

- Who taught you how to cook?

- My sister was a big instrument when it comes to, like, teaching me how to cook.

Because when we left Ethiopia, we were fairly young.

And when we were in Kenya, my mother wasn't around.

And so she had to pretty much get in the kitchen and learn how to put the dishes that we grew up eating, how to make them.

And so she placed such an instrument in me loving food, learning how to cook, the different techniques.

So definitely, I give that one to her.

- Okay.

And big sis would be proud of this spread Eden whipped up for me, a feast that could bring unity and peace on earth.

One of the most essential foods of the Ethiopian and the Eritrean cuisine is the injera, which is a flatbread known for its springy texture and slightly sour taste.

Eden laid out all the sides, from the beets to the sauteed cabbage.

But this meal, Eden, and Makina are powered by shiro.

- It's creamy, pureed chickpeas.

And when people used to farm back in the days, this is what they consume.

And it lasts with you all day long.

That's why we're powered by shiro.

- Breakfast of champions.

- [Eden] [laughs] Breakfast of champions.

- Wow.

- Take a bite.

What do you think?

- This is delicious.

You know, as someone who's lived through this conflict, you've been through a lot, do you just wake up, after you've created this incredible stall on Governor Island, living your best life, do you ever just get up and say, "Man, I did that?

"I did that?"

[Eden laughs] - You know what, sometimes I do [laughs].

Because in my eyes, the work is still not done.

But I'm extremely proud, I really am.

And not just for what I have accomplished, but also for the lane I created, in a way, being-- - What lane is that?

- I remember when I started my business, I was trying to look for inspiration and trying to look for some sort of, like, role model and not being able to find it, wanting to bring Ethiopian and Eritrean food in more of a fast-casual concept, and not really being able to do that or even being comfortable to share my story.

- What is your hope for the two countries?

- My grandparents grew up in conflict.

My parents grew up in conflict.

I grew up in conflict.

So my hope is that there won't be conflict, that we would actually value each other for what we have.

We would actually celebrate our differences.

And I hope that our generation is the generation that will break that cycle.

- And we do that one injera at a time.

- And we will do that one injera at a time, absolutely.

- Eden saw firsthand how food can heal and bring cultures together, even in the midst of conflict.

And she's using her food and mission to shine a light on East Africa and to heal communities here at home.

And as the sun set on Governors Island, it was back on the ferry for me, as I heard of an organization of refugees celebrating the beauty and food of their cultures.

As the son of immigrants, I saw firsthand how hard it was for my parents, and they chose to come to this country.

For refugees, they had no choice, often fleeing from life-threatening circumstances.

And for them, settling into American life can be almost impossible.

Organizations like Emma's Torch make the impossible possible as they train refugees and asylum seekers in the culinary arts to empower them to build meaningful careers in the food industry.

Chef Alex.

- Hello.

- How are you?

I headed to the Emma's Torch cafe in Brooklyn, New York to meet Chef Alex, who left his successful career in fine dining to help recent arrivals build their careers in the kitchen.

- In my community, I had a really good friend, and she told me about this thing called Emma's Torch.

She says, "I think it'll be right up your alley.

"Would you like to come with me and volunteer?"

I did.

I loved it immediately.

And you know, the rest is history.

Here I am today.

- So from volunteer to running this whole program.

So, where are all of these students from?

- Our students come from so many different places around the world.

Really, if you name a country, our students have been from there.

- And how do you make a family and a community with folks that don't even speak each other's languages?

- I think food definitely helps.

Food and education are a way to bridge that gap and kind of break things down.

So it's a quick way to get somebody to start opening up a little bit more so we can develop a relationship.

- They may not speak each other's languages, but I know they speak the language of the kitchen.

- Indeed.

- For the first part of training, students learn basic knife skills, communication, and key culinary techniques to help them operate in a professional kitchen.

They then move to working in the cafe, where they get experience at every station, from the back to the front of the house.

What is your hope for them?

- My hope is for them to find their true voice, be the person who they were previously in their country, but with this newfound inspiration of the things that they've learned and seen in this country, so that they can reach this new goal and new dream that they have of their life with their family here in the United States.

- [Buki] Emma's Torch is named after Emma Lazarus, a 19th century advocate and poet whose words adorn the base of the Statue of Liberty.

"Give me your tired, your poor, "Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."

And that yearning for freedom is the backbone behind the current and polarizing migrant crisis in America.

But Chef Alex says we need to take one more look and change our perspective.

- I think one thing that people aren't taking into consideration is that many people are not coming to this country because they're here to live the American dream.

In many cases, our students are forced into this migration path, whether it's political persecution, a trafficking situation, or situation in which they've been previously tortured.

- Every student in this kitchen had a story.

For some, the trauma they went through was too raw to retell.

But student Sow sat down with me to share his journey to the US.

A business owner and pro-democracy activist, Sow fled his native Guinea after a presidential coup in 2020.

As a result, his family was scattered to the winds, with Sow in America, his wife in Canada, his brother in Europe, and his children still remaining in Guinea.

So, you went from Guinea to Brazil, from Brazil to Mexico, and then you finally landed here?

- Yes.

- Do you miss Guinea?

- Too much.

- Too much?

- Yeah, I miss Guinea and I miss my family.

- How hard is it to be without your family right now?

- I miss them.

And I fear for my people because the situation for the country is not stable.

Anytime you have, like, demonstration of politic.

So I have worry for my family.

- Tell me about your time here at Emma's Torch.

Are you enjoying it?

- We have now learned many things about the kitchen, how to work in the front of a house.

We have lot of experience about the kitchen experience now.

- Sow has faith that one day he will reunite with his family here in America.

To get to that dream, graduating from Emma's Torch is the next step on the road to a better life for Sow and his family.

Are you excited for graduation, and have you decided what you're going to make yet?

- Yes, I have this decided my own recipe.

I give to my chef.

- So the entire kitchen is gonna help you make that for graduation.

- Yes.

- Am I invited?

Can I come?

- Yes!

- Okay, I was just making sure I could come to the graduation.

- I think you are the guest.

- Okay.

[gentle music] Time flies when you're in the kitchen.

Two weeks later, and it was graduation day.

How you doing?

Friends and family filled the room, and Chef Alex toasted another graduating class from around the world, ready to start their careers.

- Okay, tonight the assignment of our celebration was for all of our graduates to create a dish that represents them, that shows us who they are in a plate of food, so we can understand all of their hard work and their journey as a chef.

So that's what we're gonna share together tonight.

- The students churned out an unbelievable feast, with one dish from each student.

And with a spread like this, it was all hands on deck, so I pitched in to help serve.

Enjoy, enjoy.

With every delectable bite, I took a trip around the world.

That smells good.

With the flavors of Jamaica, Russia, and, we can't forget, Guinea.

- I just wanna introduce a few of the students that made the delicious dishes that we have been eating tonight, - [Buki] Getting to know Sow and all the students at Emma's Torch should remind us all that everyone has a powerful story to tell and a meaningful contribution to make.

- Thank you so much.

And thank you, Emma's Torch.

[diners applaud] - [Buki] When we're able to celebrate each other, whether born here or abroad, we make sure Lady Liberty's torch burns bright, welcoming us home.

Ghana is a country where attention must be paid.

This country has it all.

Oil, diamonds, and aluminum ore, just to name a few.

It's one of the biggest producers of cocoa in the world, and exports some of the most delicious spices that make any dish sparkle with flavor.

I heard about one Ghanaian who's getting all the attention for bringing her special brand of spice and culture to the masses.

[Buki speaks foreign language] Guinean queen and spice entrepreneur Essie Bartels invited me to her kitchen to get a taste of her spices.

When Ghana and Nigeria come together, watch out, anything can happen.

- I'm so excited to have you here today.

- I'm excited too.

- We're gonna be making red red.

So let's get started.

- All right, put me to work, chef.

- I want you to cut the onions 'cause I don't wanna cry, so you do that while I work on the scotch bonnets.

- I saw that you wrote, I believe on Instagram, that you were trying to get away from food, but food always found you.

- Always.

- What did you mean by that?

- You know, growing up, I'm the first granddaughter and the first daughter.

And you know what that means.

- You know what that means.

[Essie laughs] - The minute the kitchen is ready, you're in there cooking, you know?

So cooking became a chore for me as opposed to something that I enjoyed until I started learning about, like, different cuisines and experimenting a lot with all these other ingredients that my mom would buy but never use.

That became the thing that I would do, and then I got excited about cooking from then.

- But why spices?

Because, I mean, I don't know anyone doing spices.

- I've always experimented with food, and I felt like spices is what brought a lot of my food, especially West African cuisine, together.

And so that felt like the platform that I can use to express a lot of our foods, our traditions, our culture.

And so that's why I started leaning towards spices.

- [Buki] Essie came to the United States at age 18.

Like most kids from a foreign land, she pursued a degree and landed a job that would make her parents proud.

She worked for a multinational company that took her all over the world.

She brought the flavors of her travels back to her kitchen.

And like a mad scientist, she would experiment with new combinations and blends of spices.

In 2013, Essie Spice was born.

It was a side hustle at first until... - I had been working in corporate for almost 10 years.

I got into a job that was not the right fit.

They let me go.

I took six months off and decided to just focus on the brand.

- And what was mom's first response?

- Her first response was, "What am I gonna tell my friends that you do?"

And I said, I make sauce.

- Within those six months of fully committing to her brand, the girl who makes sauce was able to land in "TIME Magazine" and "Forbes," and bring her spices to shelves to big retailers, like Whole Foods and Target.

But this is full circle for Essie, as she sources most of her raw materials from her native Ghana.

You get all the dry spices?

- Yes.

- From Ghana.

- From one woman in Ghana.

- Yes.

Now we're diversifying and we're getting from a lot more farmers.

But when we started, she was our main point of contact and she would help us to get the spices, blend them and bring them here.

- Now, what is the art of making a spice blend?

- Let's get grinding.

So right here, we have West African nutmeg.

So these are a bit warmer than a regular nutmeg.

- Can I put this in my pumpkin pie?

- Yes.

Yes, you absolutely can.

We're going to pound that a bit first.

Very good.

Ooh, looks like you've done this before.

- I'm just saying, I'm just saying, all right, this is not my first time at the rodeo.

- And then we have our grains of paradise.

This is very closely related to a black pepper.

So it has a bit of a kick and a bit of a spice, but just a little bit.

This one is very strong.

We don't put as much.

And then we'll put just a pinch of anise seed.

These are very fruity, and this will give it that balance.

So we want it to be nice and ground, more powdery.

So get in there, get in there.

[laughs] Exactly.

Ooh, smells so good.

- It does smell incredible.

After we mixed up the spice blend, Essie and I headed to the stove to put this Guinean one-pot masterpiece together.

- So we have our palm oil here.

Palm oil gets this beautiful color from the betacarotene in the palm.

A lot of West Africans, this is an integral part of our dishes.

We've added the fish.

This is our tilapia that is salted and fermented.

So it's going to incorporate into the sauce.

And next, we're going to add the onions that you beautifully sliced.

- My expertly sliced onions.

- And then we're going to add our LOFF sauce.

Ooh.

Mmm.

- Mmm.

Okay now.

- Yes.

So LOFF is named after the most famous West African dish-- - Don't do it, Essie, don't start.

Don't start, 'cause we're gonna go there.

Don't do it.

- The most famous, jollof.

- [Buki] West African countries, but especially Ghana and Nigeria, have been embroiled in a jollof war for decades.

But jollof rice actually originated in the Senegambian region of Africa centuries ago, under the Jolof Empire.

Jollof rice likely spread across the western region through trade, migration, and exchanges.

Today, each West African country, from Sierra Leone to Cameroon to Nigeria and Ghana, are known for putting their own twist on this essential African meal.

- A lot of our stews in West Africa need to cook down.

And so what I did with the LOFF sauce is to help you cut that time in half or more.

- A starter.

- Exactly, like a starter.

So we're going to add the scotch bonnet.

I know, I know, you'd rather we add like a whole sack of-- - Just a few more.

- [Essie] And then, of course, the spice blend that we made.

We'll mix it all together.

And then we'll add the black-eyed beans that have been cooked already.

And then, finally, we're going to take about two tablespoons of our Coco-For-Garlic.

I think this is my star sauce, but I love all of them.

- Ooh!

Okay.

Okay.

That's my favorite.

That's the star right there.

- [Essie] Yeah.

We're gonna pull it all together.

And this is going to just simmer, and we'll start with the plantains.

- [Buki] Can't wait for it to get [indistinct].

- Yes.

- If the British have chips, then us Africans have plantains.

No dish is complete without them.

So we got to chopping.

You know, I love the fact that, for you, it's always been more than spices.

It's always been more than just food.

You really want to incorporate your culture into everything that you do, in addition to supporting Ghana.

And I know that you're supporting young women as well.

- For me, it starts with education.

A lot of the work that we do is with women back home, the people that we buy from, the farmers.

We also have started to give back to women in Ghana, to let women know how they can go from their kitchen to shelf.

So if you have an idea and you want to get it to a shelf like Whole Foods or Sephora or Target, how do you put that together and get packaged and ready for these big stores and go national?

[group speaks foreign language] - What does that mean to you, that your dream, this little engine that could, is really helping to support the next generation of entrepreneurial women?

- There was so much that wasn't done for me.

When I was starting, I was literally clasping and clawing for someone that would hold my hand, tell me, "Okay, use this shipper, don't use that.

"Go to the FDA.

"This is how you get all these documentations."

And nobody was there.

So I'm trying to make that an easier process for the people that are coming after me.

- [Buki] Time really flies when you're connecting over culture.

The red red was cooked to perfection, and it was time to eat.

- Bon appetit.

- Mm!

[Essie chuckles] Oh my goodness, the red red.

- [Essie] Yeah.

[Essie chuckles] So delicious.

- I have no notes.

I have no words.

Tens across the board.

You are doing mommy proud.

I remember, I think I saw you saying that she said that she was proud of you, and you cried.

- Yeah, it was 27th May, 2000-- - Not you knowing the date.

- And 21, yeah.

That was the first time my mom said she was proud of me.

I think she finally saw that I was really invested and I'm doing this and I'm not giving up.

- So, what is next for Essie Spice?

- You know, anything to educate people about the food techniques and food culture of Ghana is the next thing for Essie Spice, yeah.

- Essie believes you belong with and to your community, not just your parents.

Through her own success, Essie is impacting her culture and inspiring those around her to succeed in anything they choose to do, done always with a little spice.

Well, thank you, Essie.

And next time, I will invite you over for some Nigerian fare.

- I will be looking forward to that.

- [Buki] Okay.

- I will bring my Tums.

[both laugh] - I'm dead.

Well, you know what, you should.

You should.

America is a nation of immigrants, refugees, and expats, built from people who came from all over the world to make a better life.

Eden, Essie, Sow, and the team from Emma's Torch are no different, but they've taken the hardships they faced and turned it into delicious success and a way to make things better for the next generation.

Now, that's making an impact.

[bright music] [bright music]