pop-up events
Hear about our past and upcoming pop-up food events, cooking classes, and community cultural events! Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest news and updates.
PAST EVENTS
Flavours of Hope X Coho Collective: Street Food Series
September 18, 2021 from 12pm to 4pm
1370 East Georgia Street (Coho Coffee)
Food & Race Part 1:
Cultural Identity
We held our first roundtable conversation on Saturday, June 6 from 4:00pm to 5:30pm with women from Flavours of Hope and special guest Iona Santos-Fresnoza, co-founder of Kapé, ethically sourced coffee from Philippine indigenous women coffee farmers. We were able to explore how we can use food and drinks to share our cultural identity, history, struggles, and celebrations. We are thankful for everyone who joined in our online conversation and shared stories and cultural snacks with us!
Food & Race Part 2:
Ancestral Connections
We hosted our second “Food & Race Conversation Series” to explore our ancestral connections and practices through traditional food on Tuesday, July 7 at 1:30pm with women from Flavours of Hope and special guest Asha Wheeldon, founder of Kula Foods, an Afro-vegan food business in Vancouver. We learned how food connects to our history, language, culture, and land.
Food & Race Part 3
:
Women in Food
We were grateful for the engaging conversation in our third Food & Race Conversation Series on Friday, August 28 at 7:00pm with women from Flavours of Hope and special guest Behavar Khansari, co-owner of Celeshmet, a family-run Persian restaurant in South Vancouver. We explored the roles of women in different food cultures and how they are leading the way in planting seeds, persevering traditions, and creating culinary cuisines. By breaking down barriers and empowering aspiring women food entrepreneurs in our community, we honour and celebrate women in the food industry!
World Refugee Day - June 20, 2020
On Saturday, June 20, we came together, cooking in solidarity and celebrating the resilience of refugees for World Refugee Day. Flavours of Hope and 11 other amazing culinary refugee and immigrant empowerment organizations across Canada and the US hosted an interactive virtual cooking event featuring refugee cooks and their stories, and an engaging panel discussion on the role of food in creating connections and expressing cultural identities.
Sharing Food, Sharing Culture - October 19, 2019
We had a wonderful and interactive afternoon with over 40 people at our “Sharing Food, Sharing Culture” event at the local Britannia Community Centre! People participated in cooking demonstrations lead by three talented newcomer women chefs from Saudi Arabia, Philippines, and Venezuela. We learned about different sweet and savoury traditional food from the women chefs and heard their stories of migration and memories of eating together with families and friends.
We are grateful for fruitful conversations about cultural food and its power to strengthen identity, build connections, and experience a deeper sense of belonging in the community. Thank you to all the participants who shared personal stories of food, and the incredible women chefs who nourished us with good food and memories!
Merienda: Food, Coffee & Dialogue - June 30, 2019
We held our first successful sold-out multicultural Merienda afternoon with food, coffee and stories at the end of June in solidarity with World Refugee Day! We are incredibly grateful to host this community event with strong women entrepreneurs from Kapé Philippines Coffee and Kulinarya Filipino Eatery, a family-run restaurant in our East Vancouver neighbourhood.
We had an amazing time of sharing Mexican appetizers and Filipino desserts and drinks, hearing powerful stories of migration, and engaging in meaningful dialogue of identity, belonging, stereotypes and prejudice faced by refugees and immigrants. People were nourished and fed by good food and conversations with each other.
Cross-Cultural Iranian and Kenyan Vegan Feast - May 11, 2019
We were grateful for everyone who came to eat, learn and share in our cross-cultural vegan feast with Persian food from an Iranian chef and East African food from Kula Foods! We had an amazing evening of sharing food and stories of culture, identity and community. We saw that food has the power to bring people together, break down language and cultural barriers, and create a sense of welcome and unity.
Mexican Cooking Class: Tortilla Soup and Pineapple Chili Salsa - March 1, 2019
We had a fun and engaging evening of sharing traditional Mexican food, cooking and storytelling as part of our Cultural Dialogues through Food series. Chef Angeles, a talented refugee newcomer woman chef from Guadalajara, Mexico taught people how to make traditional tortilla and share the history, culture and story behind the beloved Mexican dish.
Angeles showed people how to make her special family recipes of tortilla soup, pineapple chili salsa, and fresh agua fresca, a light fruit drink popular throughout Mexico. She explained the different kinds of chilies and various spices used in Mexican cooking and engaged everyone in their senses.
Through cooking and dialogue, Angeles shared her story of migration and the healing power of food in helping her to connect with Canadians and build relationships and sense of belonging in the community. We had a wonderful long table dinner after the cooking class and ate together as we discussed issues of identity, race, and belonging through our experiences of food.
Venezuelan Cooking Class: Salsa Guasacaca and Tequeños - Dec 11, 2018
We had a wonderful collaboration with Chinatown House, a co-working space and community hub in the heart of Chinatown in Vancouver, to bring people together to experience the first cooking demo in our Cultural Dialogues Through Food series.
We learned how to make traditional Venezuelan party snacks, tequeños con salsa guasacaca (cheese sticks with a herb-based salsa) and tostones (plantain chips) from Chef Marialejandra Reyes Valerio, a talented Venezuelan woman who came to Canada less than a year ago as a refugee seeking a safer and better life with her partner. It was an amazing evening of sharing food and stories with newcomers and Canadians while cooking and learning together.
Storied Cuisine: A Celebration of Women Entrepreneurs and Cultural Food - October 27, 2018
We had an unforgettable evening of celebrating diverse cultural food and stories of women entrepreneurship in the beautiful setting of Massy Books in Chinatown. We heard stories and memories behind three inspiring refugee newcomer women chefs - from Venezuela, Mexico and Palestine - and learned about their personal connection to each traditional dish and their journey of migration to Canada. We also tasted a delicious array of desserts from local food blogger extraordinaire, Fanny Lam of Oh Sweet Day! and heard her entrepreneurial journey as an immigrant to Canada and some of the joys and challenges she's faced while starting a baking business. We had an amazing space and opportunities for intercultural dialogue and learning through the lens of food, culture and stories.
“I am grateful to build new friendships and share our stories of migration. We support each other by listening, telling and sharing our food, recipes, and memories of our families eating around a table. I would love to open a Mexican restaurant and make fresh food from scratch.” - Chef Angeles
Summer Newcomer Food Market - June to August 2018
We had a wonderful summer cooking with talented newcomer women and selling traditional cultural food from Mexico, Venezuela and Middle East at the Summer Newcomer Food Market on Granville Island in 2018! We celebrated diverse ethnic food and engaged people in fun games and intercultural activities. We are grateful for all the meaningful conversations, stories, and memories that people have shared with us over good food and drinks.
Thank you for your encouragement, support and friendships as we turn our ideas and dreams into a hopeful reality! We have learned a lot through this experience and will continue to build up Flavours of Hope to empower refugee newcomer women through cultural cooking.
A Taste of the Sea and Spanish Stories - May 19, 2018
We celebrated the wonderful pacific coastal flavours of Mexico with Flavours of Hope's Taste of the Sea and Spanish Stories at YVR Prep Commissary Kitchen on Saturday, May 19. Mexican chef Angeles Canedo created a traditional feast with her favourite family recipes of pico de gallo, spot prawn empanadas, and ceviche dishes highlighting local sustainable seafood including ling cod and side stripe shrimp. We enjoyed good food and drinks together, and made new friends throughout the evening.
We ate together and learned about Mexican food and culture through Angeles' inspiring story of resilience, strength and hope in her journey of coming to Canada with her family as refugee claimants and seeking a safer and better life in Canada. We played a fun traditional Mexican game to learn Spanish words and were creative in making our own cultural bingo game!
The pop-up dinner event included a fundraising auction to support Flavours of Hope's summer food market pilot to empower refugee women to earn income, access business training, build a support network, and gain work experience by selling multi-ethnic dishes and telling stories on Granville Island this summer. The auction showcased local social entrepreneurs including a Mexican themed gift basket, personal training session, and woodworking workshop. We featured a special raffle for Growoya, an eco garden clay pot for a natural and traditional way to grow food for the summer. It was a successful and impactful dinner event!
A Night of Syrian Feast, Music and Storytelling - April 7, 2018
We had a truly hopeful evening with our second Pop-Up Night of Syrian Feast, Music and Storytelling on April 7 at the Kitsilano Neighbourhood House. Over 100 people came to taste the diverse flavours of dishes from Damascus while listening to Syrian music and sharing stories of food, culture and friendship. Two newcomer women chefs, Hayat and Carmen, created a feast of traditional cuisine from their family recipes and beloved food from Syria. We heard powerful stories of Hayat and Carmen's journey to Canada as refugees and their joys and challenges of settling and integrating into Canadian culture. We were inspired by their ambitions and hopes to build a catering business, A Taste of Damascus, in Vancouver.
We opened our hearts and minds to listen to the Syrian women's stories and learned how to share our own memories of food from our culture. The evening was a wonderful time of eating together, making new friends, and learning about the art of storytelling through food.
First Cross-Cultural Community Dinner - February 24, 2018
Our first pop-up community dinner celebrated food, culture, and stories in neighbourhoods with traditional cuisine created by three newcomer chefs: Hayat and Carmen, a Syrian mother and daughter, and Angeles from Mexico. Over 60 people ate together and learned about the unique stories and cultures of these talented women.
The menu featured a delicious range of traditional Syrian and homestyle Mexican dishes including: fol mudammas (traditional Damascus fava bean dish), madfouneh (bulgur with chicken), mutabal (roasted eggplant), hummus, pozole (traditional Mexican soup), enfrijoladas, enmoladas (enchiladas), pico de gallo (with avocado) and baclava.
