Syrian newcomers share tasty morsels from their homeland with Quebec City neighbours

When Quebec City's new farmersmarket opens to the publicin 2018, shoppers looking for the perfect desert wine or fine cheese will also be able to pick up some sanbousak or a dozen maamoulestaples of authentic Syrian cuisine.

The women who will be cookingthe delicacies and ringing up the cash register have just started rebuilding their lives in Quebec, after fleeing their homes in Syria.

"I worked in Turkey as a cook, I'm very happy to be here with Mrs. Nour, very happy," said one of those women, Hanan Abdul Karim,taking her time to find the correct words in French.

Karim has been taking French-language classes in Quebec City since she arrived in 2015 with her six children.Aseventh is onthe way.

She is one of nine Syrian women who now work part-time for the catering project Aliments Ensemble.

The women get together to cooktraditional Syrian food as they learn to navigate the labyrinthine corridors of Quebec bureaucracy, when it comes to obtaining licenses and permits in the food industry.

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They also learn about business management and how to find distributors, all while practising their French with customers.

"They are so proud," said Nour Sayem, the founder of the non-profit organization.

"They come from war, and these ladies have exceptional resilience. I find them very strong."

"At first their salaries were combined with their husbands, but now they ask me to have their own bank accounts," Sayem said with a laugh, adding she has managed to get the men on board.

"They are with us, they support us, and this is the most important thing that I have done," Sayemsaid.

Sharing a lifetime of knowledge

The energetic womancan certainlyrelate to these families thatleft everything behind in Syria.She left the war-torncountry in 1967 when she was just 15.

Sayem obtained a PhDin food science and technology, raising her two children with her husband, who she met in Quebec.

Sayem said when she wroteher autobiography a few years ago, she realized she could use her experience to welcome immigrants and help them get on their feet.

"I know the Qubcois, I know they are a bigpeople. And I know Syrians; I know their language. Soit's a new mission I gave to myself," she said.

After hearing about acatering project for Syrian refugees in Saint-John, N.B, she decided she could recreate the concept in the city in which she's lived for the past 37 years.

Community support

On the last weekend before the holidays, Karimwas busy selling the last merchandise the women had prepared for 2017 at Quebec City's farmersmarket at theOld Port.

"Salty, sweet, Syrian food is very good," she explained to people who stopped by for a taste.

The stall was offered to the women free of charge by theco-opof the March du Vieux-Port for the entire month of December, said Sayem.

A local bakery also openedits kitchens on Sundays so the chefs could cooktheir products in a kitchen recognized by the province's food regulatory agency.

Everywhere you go, if you share food, it's a pacific way to get integrated.- Nour Sayem

Sayem said she is thankful but not surprised to see all this support, including backing from the city of Quebec.

In 2018, Aliments Ensemble'sknaffehsand stuffed vine leaveswill be prepared in the brand new kitchensof the city's new farmers' market.

Last spring, six women in the group received certificationin food sanitation through UniversitLaval, learning along the way to improvetheir recipes.

"It's beautiful, when you see these ladies who didn't speak a word of French when they got here, and now they text me in French," said Sayem.

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Sayemsays this will allow the women to continue theproject's mission: to facilitate theintegration of Syrian women but also introduce Syrian food and culture to Quebecers.

"The only thing you can share with others is food. Music and food. It's an art. Everywhere you go if you share food, it's a pacific way to get integrated."