Join the global movement of dinners, restaurants, and chefs to raise awareness for the people of Iran.
Find out how, today.
Restaurants | Influencers | Individuals
Our focus is to raise awareness for the human rights movement, especially women’s rights in Iran. For those who choose to raise funds, our charity partner is The Center for Mind-Body Medicine’s Iran program.
Join #CookForIran to raise awareness for the human rights movement, especially women’s rights, in Iran.
Host your own #CookForIran dinner, supper club or bake sale or participate as a restaurant or influencer. Learn more here!
Invite your friends and community to raise awareness and amplify the movement in Iran. For those who wish to raise funds, The Center for Mind-Body Medicine is our recommended partner.
Cook and check our Recipes page for inspiration!
Share your pictures, recipes and stories on social media by adding #CookForIran to connect with the community!
If you choose to raise funds, emails us how much you raised so we can share with our community!
Email cookforiran@gmail.com for details! Tag @CookForIran when sharing your journey online and encourage others to join the movement!
All proceeds will be directed to The Center for Mind-Body Medicine.
Let’s Get Cooking!
WHY
“We hope that through the #CookForIran campaign we will raise further awareness and support for the current movement around the world, demanding human rights and women’s rights for the Iranian people. Through cooking, sharing recipes and the power of social media, we invite everyone to help keep attention on Iran as the country goes through this time and toward an Iran with freedom and human rights.”
– The #CookForIran Team
Our Mission
#CookForIran aims to increase awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Iran through food, a language all people understand and love. Similar to #CookForSyria and #CookForUkraine, this campaign is built around culture, food and community – raising awareness and keeping the movement alive while Iranians find a path forward.
Iranian cuisine — Iran is modern-day Persia and the food and culture is also often called Persian — is one of the oldest in the world and reflects the country’s rich cultural heritage with influences from across the Middle East and beyond.
Key ingredients in Iranian cuisine include saffron, pomegranate / pomegranate molasses, pistachios, dried rose petals, rose water, walnuts, fresh herbs and turmeric.
Since its inception, hundreds of people from different backgrounds and nationalities have reached out and shown their solidarity by joining this initiative – including top chefs, award-winning food writers, restaurant owners and home cooks – cooking, baking and sharing Iranian-inspired dishes at their restaurants with their guests, at home with their friends and across social media with their family and followers.
#CookForIran also provides a platform for Iranian families and their supporters to share recipes with each other, along with the stories behind those dishes.
Join us on our mission to raise awareness for the people of Iran!
Have a Question?
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#CookForIran is a community and volunteer-led campaign designed to raise awareness for the current human rights movement (especially for women’s rights) in Iran. For those who wish to raise funds, we have selected The Center for Mind-Body Medicine as our recommended charity. The campaign is led by a group of entrepreneurs, food writers, chefs, and marketers who believe in using their skills and influence to support those they can.
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CMBM is the world’s largest, most effective evidence-based program for healing population-wide psychological trauma and stress.
They bring together a variety of techniques drawn from the world’s healing traditions as well as modern medicine to help whole populations learn to heal themselves.
They have a successful track record from working in many humanitarian emergencies
They are able to work remotely and deliver support directly to Iranians in Iran
They work through their HQ in the US where they have a credible 501.3.c and with respect for all legal requirements to operate.
Their focus is on human beings. They have no political affiliations.
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#CookForIran is a humanitarian community focused on raising awareness for the human rights movement in Iran. We stand for basic rights for all people.
We have no political affiliations.
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As long as your charity of choice is not political and is a credible organization following the legal and regulatory requirements of the country in which it operates as well as respecting the rights of all people, we welcome you to fundraise for them. We cannot diligence or endorse charities that are not official partners. If you are making a donation to a charity, please do your research and check with regulatory bodies to confirm legitimacy and efficacy.
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We will do our best to share the work of credible charities who align with our values and are focused on a humanitarian response, not political. We are all volunteers so this will be case by case!
Who is behind #CookForIran
#CookForIran was born in October 2022 when the team behind #CookForSyria (raised over $1.3MM for charity) and #CookForUkraine (raised over $1.8MM for charity) once again turned to food to mobilize communities.
The team was actively working on the #CookForUkraine campaign as the women’s rights movement in Iran was unfolding and wanted to mobilize the food and hospitality community to raise awareness for Iran. The team is committed to providing a humanitarian way for the community to respond.
More about our amazing team here.