Since our chefs began cooking in 2015, we are honoured to have won several awards for our work as a social enterprise. We have also appeared in multiple publications thanks to our focus on delivering ethical food that delights customers and benefits people seeking asylum in Australia.
Awards
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre Wins Social Enterprise Award, Pro Bono Australia News, December 2016
ASRC Catering took out the award for social enterprise of the year (small) on Wednesday evening.
“We were really, really pleased last night, it was a great award to win,” ASRC social enterprise volunteer Ben Robb told Pro Bono Australia News.
Ethical enterprise award, October 2016
ASRC’s longest running social enterprise, ASRC Catering recently took out third prize in Moral Fairground’s Ethical Enterprise Awards, held on 20 October 2016. The catering business, which employs around 30 people seeking asylum, won $15,000 worth of mentoring and business consultation from One10. ASRC Catering was recognised for its commitment to providing social and economic empowerment to people seeking safety in Australia.
The Age Good Food Guide 2016: The award winners, GoodFood — 21 September 2015
When the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre started a catering company 10 years ago, it had three aims. First, to provide work for asylum seekers who have the right to work in Australia. Second, to train workers for the hospitality industry. And lastly, to create an opportunity for the Australian community to learn that asylum seekers are people with stories, culture, experience and skills.
Media coverage
Catering for a Cause, SBS Food, 28 March 2017
“We do a lot of corporate lunches and clients say, ‘Thank goodness it’s not just sandwiches again!’,” laughs Caroline Sturzaker. Sturzaker is talking about the diverse menu – from gyoza and empanadas to a West African vegetable stew and sweet Greek cheese pastries – offered by Melbourne-based ASRC Catering.
Food-based social enterprises are a growing movement, The Australian — 13 October 2016
Our religious obsession with every aspect of food shows no sign of abating. We fervently worship our pantheon of celebrity chefs at sacred restaurant sites and rapidly multiplying food festivals. Elsewhere we pay homage by tuning in to watch our spiritual leaders hold court in the hallowed halls of reality shows where they anoint demigods before sashaying into supermarket aisles dispensing nutritional wisdom and urging besotted believers to purchase the latest cookbook bible.
ASRC Catering: Catering for a cause, Social Traders, September 2016
The vision for ASRC Catering has always been to provide asylum seekers the opportunity to reach their full potential – to work, to gain skills and confidence, and to connect with the local community. This is achieved through providing a professional catering service that offers a global food experience, the menu reflecting the cultural diversity of the team.
Catering to food trends: Melbourne's best party food in 2016, GoodFood — 17 June 2016
As we head into the party season once again, it's clear as gin that Melburnians love a tasty shindig. We love a rooftop, a smart cocktail, a cute little canape. But think about hosting and catering your own soiree and it sends a chill down most of us fierce enough to refreeze those mini spring rolls.
Shining a spotlight on the Melbourne chefs and charities using food for good, GoodFood — 18 August 2015
In case you missed Jamie Oliver's "odd bunch" ads on television, food waste is so hot right now. Once the nostalgic territory of thrifty war-era home cooks, it's become front and centre in many of the world's best and brightest culinary minds.
Food for thought, The Age — 8 August 2006
Social enterprise projects open up exotic new worlds - and everybody benefits. In these days of $2 million fit-outs and $10,000-a-week rent, is it any wonder that so many migrants and refugees find themselves driving cabs or cleaning offices rather than opening restaurants?
Articles on ASRC website
The business of caring: ASRC social enterprises thrive in 2016, January 2017
Social enterprises founded by the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre achieved astonishing success in 2016, with the three businesses earning a staggering 62 per cent more income than the previous year.
ASRC Catering clean up at Social Enterprise Awards, December 2016
Can you smell what the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre is cooking? The ASRC Catering team claimed an award at the Social Enterprise Awards last Wednesday, taking home the award for the best business with less than 20 full-time employees.