Unfortunately Punjabi Junction is currently closed for business. Hopefully we will up and running again in the very near future.
2021 – We are successful with Leith Chooses Funding!
A huge thank you to those at Leith Chooses for deciding to fully fund our Indian Hot Food project.
Our project will prepare, cook, pack & deliver Asian based nutritious food to isolated BAME individuals and/families who are suffering from food poverty. Throughout lockdown our service users voiced on multiple occasions although appreciative of food parcels they received from other organisations they missed having their own traditional food. The meals will be cooked fresh in our catering premises at Midlothian Innovation Centre and deliver to individuals and families around Leith. The project will allow BAME individuals and families access to Asian meal at least once or twice a week improving their health, mood and wellbeing.
Cafe News
Due to schedule renovation of Stead Place we unfortunately have had to make the decision to close the cafe to customers. However we are still trading for outside catering events including weddings, private events, markets and stall both in and outside the Edinburgh area. Follow our social media sites to keep up to date to what we are up to and where we will be next.
History of the Punjabi Junction
Founded in 2010, the café has provided traditional Punjabi home cooked cuisine to the people of Edinburgh, whilst also giving Minority Ethnic (ME) women training and employment opportunities. The women who worked at Punjabi Junction, learned valuable social and practical skills that can be applied in any workplace. Covering literacy, numeracy, communication, social and customer care skills, the training the women are given covers a lot of bases whilst working with the public reinforces social inclusion.
25th July 2013 our Social Enterprise Cafe, previously known as Punjab’n De Rasoi was re-launched with new branding and a new name – Punjabi Junction! The layout was changed to maximise seating and to facilitate good customer service, we’ve got a great mural on the wall showing the spice trail of India and the spices we use in our cooking. We had steadily been gaining momentum with the various services we offered and seen an increase in the amount of visitors we were getting into the café. The café was styled to recreate the feeling of an old Indian Train. That along with the new name ‘Punjabi Junction’ has helped to earn our place as a respected and authentic business within the community.
Our cookery classes have been a great way to welcome the community and give them a taste of Punjabi culture. People from all ethnicity and backgrounds come into the café and spend time learning about the spices and methods used to make delicious hearty food. This part of the enterprise is brilliant for us, as the women are integrating with people from all cultures. Being able to pass on their knowledge of cooking, gives a great sense of self worth.