Four Restaurants, One Mission: Nepali Chef in Portugal Raises Funds for Rasuwa Flood Victims

LISBON, PORTUGAL, September 3, 2026

Nepali chef Tanka Sapkota, who has spent around three decades building his life in Portugal, used his four restaurants in Lisbon on September 1 to raise support for families affected by the devastating floods in Nepal. Proceeds from charity dinners at Casa Nepalesa, Come Prima, Il Mercato and Forno d’Oro are being directed to the Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund, with the initiative expected to raise between €17,000 (around NPR 30.25 Lakh) and €25,000 (around NPR 44.49 Lakh). For Sapkota, the effort was not only about money, but about standing beside the country he still considers home during one of its most painful moments.

Three Decades Away, But Nepal Still Feels Like Home

Sapkota has lived in Portugal for around 30 years.

Over those decades, he built a career, established restaurants and created a life far from Nepal.

But distance did not weaken his connection with his motherland.

When he saw the destruction caused by the floods and the suffering of families back home, he decided that he could not remain only a distant observer.

He Chose To Help Through What He Knows Best

Food has shaped Sapkota’s life in Portugal.

It gave him a profession, helped him build businesses and allowed him to create opportunities for himself and others.

So when Nepal needed help, he returned to the same thing that had given him so much.

He chose food as his way of giving back.

Four Restaurants Became One Relief Effort

For one evening, all four of Sapkota’s restaurants became part of the same mission.

Customers who sat down for dinner at Casa Nepalesa, Come Prima, Il Mercato and Forno d’Oro were also indirectly becoming part of a relief effort for Nepal.

The distance between Lisbon and Rasuwa may be thousands of kilometres, but on that evening, the connection became much smaller.

Up To NPR 44.49 Lakh Expected

The charity dinners were expected to raise between €17,000 (around NPR 30.25 Lakh) and €25,000 (around NPR 44.49 Lakh).

The money is being directed to the Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund to support communities affected by the disaster.

For families who have lost homes, relatives and livelihoods, every contribution can help strengthen the wider relief and recovery effort.

Portugal Gave Him A Future

Sapkota has often spoken about the opportunities Portugal gave him.

It became the country where he was able to build a professional identity through food and turn years of hard work into successful restaurants.

That personal history makes this fundraiser especially meaningful.

The country that helped him build his future became the place from where he could now send help back to Nepal.

Giving Back To The Country Where His Story Began

No matter how many years a person spends abroad, some connections remain permanent.

For Sapkota, Nepal is where his story began.

It is where his roots, memories and identity come from.

So when communities in Nepal were facing disaster, helping them became more than a charitable act.

It became a way of standing with his own people from thousands of kilometres away.

Not Just A Donation, But A Message

Sapkota also wanted the initiative to draw attention to what was happening in Nepal.

The charity dinners gave people in Portugal a chance to learn about the scale of the disaster and understand what flood-affected families were going through.

In that way, the restaurants were doing two things at once:

raising money for relief and carrying Nepal’s story beyond its borders.

His Kitchens Became A Connection To Home

For years, Sapkota’s kitchens have served customers in Lisbon.

On September 1, those same kitchens carried a different meaning.

They became a bridge between the country where he built his life and the country he still carries with him.

Every table served that evening became part of something larger than a normal dinner service.

Helping Through Food Is Part Of His Journey

This is not the first time Sapkota has used food to support people during difficult times.

He has previously been involved in charitable food initiatives in Portugal, including efforts to provide meals to people facing hardship.

His latest fundraiser continues the same idea, but this time the pain was much closer to his heart.

The people needing help were in Nepal.

Success Abroad, Responsibility Toward Home

For many Nepalis living overseas, success abroad does not mean leaving Nepal behind.

It often creates a new responsibility to help when the country faces crisis.

Sapkota’s initiative reflects that feeling clearly.

Instead of separating his life in Portugal from his roots in Nepal, he brought the two together.

His restaurants became the means through which years of hard work abroad could now support people struggling back home.

From Lisbon With Love

The story is ultimately not only about €17,000 or €25,000.

It is about what those numbers represent.

A Nepali who left home decades ago, built a life in another country and, when disaster struck his motherland, looked at what he had built and asked how it could help.

For one evening, four restaurants in Lisbon became four doors opening toward Nepal.

And through food, the profession that gave Tanka Sapkota a life in Portugal became his way of saying something deeply personal to the country where his journey began:

I may live far away, but Nepal is still home.