A project to make The Dep’s kitchen available to Syrian refugee families
Monday, Dec. 12, 2016
When Canada pledged to take 25,000 refugees fleeing war in the Middle East, one restaurateur in Toronto opened his doors, giving a group of Syrian women the opportunity to cook for the community, spread the wealth of their home country’s cuisines – and find new purpose in a strange city.
Published on Dec 11, 2016
A year ago the first group of Syrian refugees was welcomed into Canada and given 12 months of federal financial assistance.
In honor of Terra Madre Day – Slow Food International’s day to promote the diversity of food traditions around the world — Slow Food Toronto is proud to announce that we are partnering with The Depanneur and Newcomer Kitchen to host an event in celebration of Syrian food. It’s also a day that explores how the Slow Food movement can use its creativity and knowledge to express love for the planet and defend the future for the next generations.
A very special thank you to 100km Foods and The Big Carrot for sponsoring this event!
Tickets are $60 for Slow Food Toronto Members and $70 for non-members.
We are encouraging people to purchase tickets soon if they are interested in attending this unique event.
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Starter ~ Fattoush فتوش | Fattayer Jibneh فطاير جبنة
Fattoush is a popular Levantine salad made using toasted or fried pieces of pita bread combined with mixed greens, fresh vegetables like tomatoes, cucumber and radish, but varies according to season and region. Mint and parsley lend a freshness and fragrance, and dried sumac (the same staghorn sumac that grows here in Ontario) gives the olive oil-based dressing a distinctive tangy flavour. (#vegetarian, can be #GF)
Fatayer are a whole category delicious small baked treats that range from open-face, pizza-like flatbreads to cute little baked turnovers, with countless different shapes and fillings. Tonight will feature a cheese fatayer, as well as a vegan options such as muhamarra (spicy red pepper) or zataar (thyme and sesame).
The Main ~ El Maldoum ملضوم | Khyar belaban خيار بلبن
Maldoum can be found in kitchens from Turkey to Lebanon; this is a more rustic, countryside version of of the dish, that adds green peppers, tomatoes and potatoes, which are traditionally arranged in attractive layered patterns in a large shallow round pan before baking. A meat and vegetarian version will be served alongside a combination of short-grain rice and fried vermicelli noodles. This dish will be served with Khyar Belaban. Much like tzatziki, it’s well-known Greek cousin, this combines cool yogurt with garlic and cucumbers, but the addition of mint makes for an especially cool and refreshing salad.
Dessert ~ Harissa هريسة | Figs & Dates with Tahini and Grape Molasses
A relative of Namoura or Babousa, Harissa is one of the region’s many delicious syrup-soaked semolina cakes. This one doesn’t use yogurt, but rather tahini, giving an extra rich and nutty flavour. A traditional selection of dried figs stuffed with walnuts, and dates stuffed with almonds will also be served, with tahini & grape molasses for dipping.
Tea and Coffee
By Katherine Whittaker | December 9, 2016 | saveur.com
“This is an incredibly ancient culinary tradition,” he says, which means that giving these women an outlet to cook and continue practicing their culture is all the more important. “What happens to all that accumulated cultural knowledge and wisdom if there isn’t a place where they can showcase regional differences…it’s important that they are allowed to continue.”
The hottest new brunch in Toronto doesn’t come from a Michelin-starred restaurant, and it doesn’t feature a trendy pastry mashup. It’s a pop-up staffed by Syrian refugees.
Filmmaker Kelli Kieley has been documenting Newcomer Kitchen since she met its co-founder, Len Senater, earlier this year at the project’s beginning planning stages. “At the time it was just such a beautiful story,” she said. “I just started going, and I didn’t know exactly how amazing this project was going to be, but I knew that it was beautiful, and it has been growing so quickly.”
When Senater heard about the growing refugee population in Toronto, his first thought was about their kitchens. How could they cook for themselves, he wondered, if they were staying in hotels for weeks or months? Senater, who founded event and kitchen space The Depanneur, thought that he could give them access to a kitchen so they could cook for themselves and their families. “We invited these ladies, and they cooked this amazing food,” he said.
by Jonathan Bouchard | Mardi 6 Décembre 2016 | Radio-Canada
Ça leur permet d’utiliser et de montrer leurs talents et de redonner à leur communauté d’accueil.
Le Newcomer Kitchen est une initiative torontoise qui facilite l’intégration des réfugiés syriens par le biais de la nourriture. Malgré les succès du projet, les organisateurs peinent à rendre le projet autosuffisant.
Une fois par semaine, des réfugiés syriens se rassemblent dans la cuisine du Dépanneur, un espace culinaire à l’ouest du centre-ville de Toronto. Sur place, le groupe prépare des mets typiques de leur pays.
by Roam New Roads | Dec 5, 2016 | RNR DOCS
With over 30 years of experience in the restaurant industry, Jan O’Hearn is no amateur when it comes to knowing good food. After spending a year and a half in the Middle East, Jan became fascinated with Syrian culture—and food. Using a Canon Rebel T6i and her keen eye for detail, Jan takes close-up shots of the delicious meals made in Newcomer Kitchen (a kitchen space in Toronto offered to government-sponsored Syrian refugees) that she then uploads to Facebook. Sometimes the lovely smell emanating from the depanneur isn’t always enough to draw in customers and other like-minded women, which is why food photography is very important in this project. The communal cooking experience has much more meaning than what meets the eye. Watch the video to learn more about Jan and Newcomer Kitchen!
For the one-year anniversary of the Syrian settlement, CBC Toronto’s Metro Morning gathered a group of newcomers as well as sponsors to reflect on the past year and discuss the road ahead in the heart of the Newcomer Kitchen.
See excerpts from the conversation in CBC’s special online feature, Far and Wide
RADIO
CBC Metro Morning | Dec 5, 2016, Syrians meet the Prime Minister
CBC Metro Morning | Dec 6, 2016, Newcomer Kitchen (@ 20:00m)
PRINT & VIDEO
Syrian newcomers tell Justin Trudeau what they need to succeed in Canada
Matt Galloway, Dwight Drummond on Justin Trudeau roundtable with Syrian newcomers
‘I’m proud to be here’: Syrian refugee has tearful reunion with Justin Trudeau
Justin Trudeau vows ‘significant improvements’ to refugee system
Trudeau talks Trump, politics
by Alison Smith | December 4, 2016 | CPAC
Perspective this week looks at how Syrian refugees have managed in the year since they came to Canada and what it is like now on the ground in Aleppo.
Alison speaks to CBC Reporter Margaret Evans on what it’s like on the ground in Aleppo. Michael Molloy, former foreign service officer and former Canadians Ambassador to Jordan speaks to Alison about the resettlement of Syrian Refugees in Canada as well as obstacles faced by newcomers to the country. The Newcomer Kitchen, a project in Toronto that invites newly-arrived Syrian refugee women to cook a weekly meal is also profiled.
Finally, Alison speaks to Goldy Hyder, co-founder of Century Initiative about the importance of growing Canada’s by increasing immigration in order to grow the economy.
NK is featured at 15:00, with additional closing remarks by Rahaf at the end of the segment
BY KELLI KIELEY NOVEMBER 30, 2016
“Instead of just selling your last sandwich, why not go down in a Thelma and Louise blaze of glory?”
That was the pitch to Atique Azad, the proprietor of the Butler’s Pantry, a 25-year old Mirvish Village institution set to close at the end of 2016 to make way for the development replacing Honest Ed’s.
He thought, “what have I got to lose?” And just like that, Canada’s first Syrian Brunch Pop-Up was born. And it’s a hot ticket. December 4 is already sold out.
It’s the first official spin-off from Toronto’s Newcomer Kitchen, a project co-founded by Cara Benjamin-Pace and Len Senater at College Street’s The Depanneur that specializes in unique food experiences. Since April, more than 55 Syrian newcomer women have cooked a wide range of traditional dishes, and in the process, put over $25,000 directly into Toronto’s newcomer community.
Because each weekly dinner consistently sold out, the next challenge was to tackle Toronto’s most iconic meal: Sunday Brunch. After months of testing, tinkering and tasting, what may be the first Syrian Brunch Pop-Up in the world is ready to be experienced by a handful of lucky Torontonians.
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