Through Dream Cuisines, a cohort of newcomer women gain access to mentorship, kitchen space, and peer-based knowledge sharing as they build up their burgeoning food businesses and launch them into the mainstream.
Now in its third year, Dream Cuisines has welcomed a phenomenal new cohort. We’re excited to bolster the work of these remarkable women, talented chefs, and resilient entrepreneurs as they actualize their culinary dreams!
Welcome Dream Cuisines 2024 cohort!
Join us in welcoming: Bushra Elias from Syria, Chaima Chmale from Morrocco, Samira Mohammed from Saudi Arabia, Zahra Babajanipour from Iran, and Delia Fuentes from Mexico! We are so excited to have this new group of women in this year’s Dream Cuisines program and welcome them into our powerful community of women entrepreneurs from all over the world! We met together for the first time in early March and had the opportunity to share and try out some delicious food that they made. We can’t wait to share this year’s journey with you!
Celebrating newcomer women through food, culture and stories
Our Impact Report for 2023 is here!
Discover the transformative year we've had! Let’s celebrate the immense growth, inspiring stories, and impactful feminist food businesses led by newcomer immigrant and refugee women entrepreneurs in our community.
“What I learned here changed my life. I attended a lot of programs during the last 4 years and I couldn’t find the support I needed until I found the Dream Cuisines program. I feel lucky to join this program.”
Watch 'Flavours of Hope: Nourishing Community, Cultivating Change' Documentary Film on CBC!
about the program
Dream Cuisines is empowering & equipping newcomer women entrepreneurs to make a living by doing what they excel at: cooking and sharing food! This 9-month immersive program addresses systemic barriers in the food industry, providing women with access to educational workshops, peer knowledge sharing, commissary kitchen space, sales channels, and a network of supportive relationships.
program tenets
Care and reciprocity
We prioritize the work of nurturance, care, and emotional support in programming, creating platforms for reciprocal relationships and meaningful connections between women, mentors, and other small business owners, so women’s businesses are bolstered by community and sustained for the road ahead.
Anti-racist & feminist framework
Built and led by women of colour, Dream Cuisines centres the voices and wisdom of Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) in building, leading and facilitating programming. We work to combat systemic racism and oppression as we seek increased access and equity, with relationships at the centre of the work.
Heart & body centred
We emphasize a decolonial approach by integrating embodiment through breaths, pause, and paying attention to our bodily needs. Recognizing that women’s well-being is affected by multiple factors, we seek to provide holistic support and build trust—nurturing not just a business, but the whole person.
Prioritizing peer knowledge
We move away from traditional charity and service-provision models, and instead towards equipping women in their strengths. We notice and work to equalize power dynamics, seeking women’s self-determination in decision-making.
Collaboration and adaptation
In creating a program amidst an ever-evolving food landscape, we found imaginative ways to meet women’s need for flexible work and economic provision for their families.
Dream Cuisines is proudly supported by:
