A Day In The Life

Niki Psarias

Niki Psarias

Posted 01 August 2019

New York Program

March 2010 Intake


Current Roles: Manager, Conflict Café – dining concept from peacebuilding NGO International Alert that serves up food from countries that have experienced conflict and Founder of Border Kitchen, my own grassroots peacebuilding project that unites people through cuisine.

My Alarm Goes off...And I begin my practice of Morning Pages, which really helps me to start my day

I'm Responsible For...Development and management of the hugely popular pop up restaurant concept, Conflict Café into a multi-year product and recognised leader in the "food for good" space.

Growing my own concept, Border Kitchen to bring together people in areas that have experienced conflict, through food.

I Got The Job...By marrying my passion for food, and international affairs and development, and meeting lots of great people who felt the same way about harnessing the power of food to unite and inform.

My Typical Day...Includes venue visits, meetings with chefs and partners, tasting new menus (!), selling tickets, speaking with press and more…

The Culture Of My Workplace...Is warm and loving. It’s “food for good” after all!

My Most Memorable Work Moment...Delivering my very first Border Kitchen event in Cyprus, where I brought together chefs, food enthusiasts and diners from both sides of the divided island, through cuisine.

Feeding over 1000 people at Conflict Café and the concept becoming one of the most well-loved dining experiences in London.

My Role Models are...People who turn great ideas into reality.

The Most Challenging Part of My Job...Funding and investment to scale up these projects. We know they can have real impact for good, and I’d love to see them reach even more people globally. I am always open to new collaborations and people that can help!

The Best Part of My Job...The people that I meet at events and watching relationships and friendships being built over food at a table. A plate of food can't build peace by itself, but it gets us to a table, and that's where dialogue can begin.

After Work...I very often go out for dinner. Food is my profession and my passion.

Plan B: If I wasn't doing this, I would...Still be working in international development, or writing.

Conflict Cafe Philippines takes place on Peace Day, September 21st. Tickets available at: www.conflictcafe.org

For more on Border Kitchen: www.facebook.com/theborderkitchen

Connect with Niki on LinkedIn