Eater Detroit: Saffron de Twah’s chef Omar Anani joins effort to feed those impacted by Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico
Hurricane Fiona relief
Chef Omar Anani, owner of the award-winning Moroccan-inspired restaurant Saffron de Twah, is known for giving his time — and skills in the kitchen — to help out folks in need. In the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona, the powerful storm that ravaged much of Puerto Rico and left the entire island population without power, Anani joined the nonprofit World Central Kitchen as part of its efforts help feed the hundreds of thousands of people throughout the Caribbean impacted by the devastating storm.
In an Instagram post published over the weekend says that Anani was among a group of others who helped serve 60,000 meals during a two-week period, while the rest of the Saffron crew held things down at the restaurant in Detroit. Anani tells Eater that he left for Higuëy, Dominican Republic on Monday, Sept. 26 through Saturday, Oct. 1. He was joined by a crew of more than a dozen who prepared meals that were then distributed by boat, helicopter, and car throughout the storm-ravaged region.
Anani is among a growing number of chefs who’ve taken the time in recent weeks to lend help to flood-ravaged Puerto Rico. In Chicago, more than 30 chefs got together on Sept. 28 for the Chicago Chefs Cook for Puerto Rico fundraising tasting event at the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture in that city’s Humboldt Park neighborhood.