how syrian refugees are helping shape canadian cuisine - most popular side dishes in restaurants

Until recently, it was hard to eat Syrian food in Toronto.
But as more than 40,000 Syrian refugees have recently poured into Canada, the situation has begun to change --
Including about 11,000 in Toronto, Syrian cuisine began to take root in Toronto.
New businesses include shiny new cafes, stalls at farmers' markets, and Syrian women's groups that share traditional recipes with more members of the public.
This month, the New York Times dedicated part of its food to Canadian cuisine --
One of their contributors is David Sachs, a sixth-day American food columnist, who wrote an article on how newcomers to Syria can help shape how we define "Canadian" cuisine.
Among Saks's attention to issoufi's emerging Syrian business, a new cafe in downtown Toronto serves Mana' eesh, a traditional flat bread, toppings are similar to pizza, a pastry dessert with syrup cheese.
In August 2017, the Alsoufi family set up a family restaurant originally from Damascus, noting that there were no Syrian restaurants in Toronto.
Jala Alsoufi, 25, first moved to college in the city in 2012 and her family soon followed.
When her father's engineering background was not recognized in their new home, the family decided to put its energy into the work of Sufi.
Jala Alsoufi told Day 6 at her family's restaurant, "it's good when you take a house to a new place and share it with others, "A bright and comfortable place near one of the city's most popular parks.
"One of the classic cars I usually recommend is the za'atar-
It's a mix of Baili, olive oil and oregano.
Add tomatoes, cucumbers and fresh mint.
I usually recommend addinglabneh (
Yogurt)
Or cheese.
"It would be great if you added cheese to it," she said . ".
While dishes like Mana' eesh and knaffehcan can be found throughout the Middle East, when Syrians bring their dishes to Canada, they are eager to reproduce them on these recipes
"Syrian food is a very special kind of Middle Eastern food," Saks said . "
"I think we are very similar to the Middle East and the rest in this vast area. . .
Food, whether it's Lebanese, Palestinian or Israeli, but it's made up of some ancient traditions.
"Aleppo is a city that has basically become ruins and has been the cradle of food in the Middle East for thousands of years.
So in many ways, it's multicultural, and in many ways, it's very typical of the area, and it involves a variety of flavors that we 've only seen here.
"Some entrepreneurs behind the new wave of Syrian food companies have a culinary background.
But others, like Alsoufis, started their culinary adventure for the first time as a way to share an important part of their tradition with their new neighbors.
Newcomer Kitchen is one of a group of chefs preparing for a take-out Syrian dinner.
It was founded in March 2016 to give newly arrived Syrian refugees the opportunity to cook food at home.
Since then, it has grown into a group of 60 chefs who work in Depanneur in the West
Although funding has been difficult to obtain, the ultimate community food center.
"It's an incredible mix," Sachs said of Syrians bringing their food to the Toronto food scene . ".
"I think immigration, restaurants and food businesses are started by immigrants and you get so many people --
On the one hand, you have some people in the family who run the food business, the people who work in the restaurant, who are family chefs or professional chefs;
On the other hand, accountants and lawyers who no longer work say, "Well, I know how to cook.
"That's why so many immigrants are doing well and thriving in the food industry, because the barriers to entry are small and food is a common language.
"The new wave of Syrian cuisine is not limited to big cities like Toronto.
"Of course, this is happening all over Canada," Saks said . ".
"I mean, where is my cabin ,[in]
Medford, Ontario is a very small town, and I think there may be a two Syrian families there and the farmer's market in the summer, they sell kibeh and the little meatloaf, hummus and babaganoush.
"Your business in Montreal, what you see in Vancouver and Ottawa --
Where is the population?
These people will find such an opportunity, obviously there will be such an audience.
"Sachs said that many American readers may not be familiar with Syrian cuisine because apart from some very specific areas like Dearborn, Michigan. ,the U. S.
Have not experienced the same wave of newcomers from that region.
"In other areas of the Trump administration's restrictive immigration policy ,[are in place]
You know, there are not many Syrian refugees entering the United States.
"So, if you don't have these people, you won't have them," he said . ".
Some Syrian food suppliers in Toronto went out of their way to make sure their products reached the version they remembered at home.
Saks reviews visiting his toCrown pastry, the Bakara and the sweet food store Scarboroughowned bybrothersIsmailand rasoualsalha.
Their grandfather owned a shop of the same name in Aleppo and was destroyed during the war.
"They made the most incredible baklava, the most incredible nut --filled, butter-
Said Sachs.
Saks said the two brothers were very picky about the ingredients they used and they paid about $500 a year to bring Rose water twice from Aleppo.
"It's in a plastic bottle and it looks like blood," he exclaimed . ".
"It was smuggled into Canada through Turkey between different warring factions and Islamic extremist groups in various parts of the war, where they paid for it.
"You can buy rose water from other Middle East countries, but they insist that it has to be --
This is the key to having flavor and taste in their work.
The promise of maintaining this tradition and flavor makes these places more important than having a good meal somewhere.
"Media attention has helped light up new businesses in Syria, but in the highly competitive food industry like Toronto, can these small businesses continue in addition to positive reviews and word of mouth?
"It depends on the situation," said Sachs . "
"Of the six cases that have appeared in the last two years, I hope most people will [stick around]
But some of them have said to me privately, 'Look, this is not what I want to do with my life --
I use this as a stepping stone.
I don't want to work behind the hot stove.
"The success or failure of a food business depends on whether there are enough people willing to buy these foods," he added . ".
"So at the end of the day, quality and value will continue and how well their business is running.
No matter where they come from-
No matter where you are, this is a general rule.
"Crown pastry has been around since 2009 and is a veteran of local Syrian restaurants --
It happens to be a favorite group of Saks.
"Every time I go there, I buy a box of big, heavy and dense baklava chocolates for $20 and these incredible things that I have never tried before, and he says excitedly: "I'll go home and say to my wife, 'OK, we just have a taste of it,' and I 've been eating this for a few days. ".
It's incredible-
It's like there's no other baklava or Middle East sweetI ever had and I'm always happy to go back and buy more.
"To hear a full interview with food writer David Sachs, download our podcast and click on the" list "button at the top of this page.