meet yuliia, antoun & halima
Say hello to our newest CCTE cohort, Antoun from Damascus, Yuliia from Ukraine and Halima from Eritrea! These three gorgeous faces will be training, cooking and dancing behind the scenes in our kitchen, preparing our delicious Spring/Summer catering for you all to enjoy.
Who taught you how to cook?
Antoun: Antoun tells us his mother was the best cook, and that everything she made was the best he’s ever had. She had something called 'Al Nafas' which is when someone cooks with soul. Antoun used to watch how she cooked and copied her. When he was 16 or 17, he would work all day as a carpenter then come home and cook for her.
Halima: Halima learned from her grandmother and her massive and beautiful garden! When she was 12 or 13, Halima would take a basket and fill it with okra, tomatoes and chilli. She recalls how her grandmother loved to eat chicken and injera, and how incredibly soft and well fermented her injera was. Like Halima says, ‘I like to think my injera is as good as hers now.’
Yuliia: Yuliia learnt from her grandparents, both hers and her husband’s. They were all good cooks, her grandfather making delicious soups and her grandma making varenkykl and sweet lamb. Yuliia is also self-taught, adding her own spin on everything she cooks.
Why is cooking important?
Antoun: Antoun likes cooking because cooking is care. ‘My people we love to cook and we are always hungry!’
Halima: Halima believes that cooking for people is the happiest place, ‘I want to get the flavour perfect for them, I want them to be happy and have a special moment.’
Yuliia: For Yuliia, cooking is instinctive. It’s about caring for self and family, and a way of showing you care and love when you cook their favourite dishes.
What food would you usually cook for guests?
Antoun: Antoun prepares a table filled with sweets – baklava stuffed with walnuts and scented with rose water, alongside fresh homemade jellies filled with seasonal fruits and served with black tea.
Halima: Halima likes to make her famous injera bread, okra and rice for her guests, served with yoghurt and carrot salad.
Yuliia: For New Year and other special occasions, Yuliaa likes to make a special meat dish topped with bone jelly, which takes a whole 7 hours to cook!
What does home look like?
Antoun: For Antoun, life in Syria was so natural and easy, with people flowing in the community, visiting neighbours and family constantly. ‘You don’t have to plan anything, you can just go to your friends or families house at any time and they are there to welcome you.’ He describes Damascus city as being surrounded by nature and sea, shaping it’s people, with special restaurants high up in the hills. ‘But it’s different now, as it’s shaped and impacted by war.”
Halima: Halima describes home as lush and green, with everything grown fresh and in abundance for everyone to eat. She says it is loud, with people laughing and talking to each other, a real sense of community.
Yuliia: Yuliia’s home city lies where two rivers meet. It is an old port, surrounded by water and bridges, also known as ‘City of Brides’ as there are so many beautiful women. To Yuliia, home is every family making sausages together with special spices and pig intestine as the casing.