“Our most memorable food experience back in Iraq was actually the people that we shared food with more than the food itself. We can make the same food here but we cannot share meals with the same people and some of our best memories are sitting around a table with family and friends eating a meal together. The Iraqi ice-cream is also pretty memorable though!”, sisters Matheel and Vivian from Iraq told me.
On a late Saturday morning in the kitchen of Four Brave Women of The Trading Circle, a not for profit organisation in Summer Hill, I watched two refugee sisters Matheel and Vivian stir fava beans on the stove and chop up parsley leaves, my empty stomach rumbling from the fragrant smell of Middle Eastern spices as I watched my breakfast of ful medames, a bean stew typically eaten in the Middle East being prepared. “This is a Palestinian recipe I learnt from my father”, Matheel said to me.
“Our family left Iraq because of the war and the militias. They kidnapped my dad and threatened my family so it was too dangerous to stay.” Matheel and Vivian said.
Matheel and Vivian, originally from Iraq are two of the female refugees, chefs and bakers from Four Brave Women refugee-run restaurant in Summer Hill headed by Bindi Lea. Together they have started their own business they run called the Soul of Baghdad. The other two are business partners Yulia and Iana of The Magic Tablecloth whose passion are to bake traditional desserts from Russia and Ukraine which are their backgrounds.
These ladies will be at the Carriageworks Night Markets on Friday 15 February 2019, which is curated by chef, restaurateur and pioneer of distinct Cantonese-Australian cuisine, Kylie Kwong, together with a line-up of over 60 stalls from Australia’s best chefs and producers 2019. The event is designed to showcase creative responses to themes presented by renowned American artist Nick Cave’s installation UNTIL, Carriageworks’ largest installation to date.
I enjoyed indulging on my breakfast that morning of Ful Medames, a rich blend of fava beans with lemon and Middle Eastern spices served with fresh parsley, a diced tomato and cucumber salad and Iraqi bread; Arayes, filled with sauteed vegetables and fresh herbs wrapped in pita bread, grilled and served with a zesty yoghurt dip; and from Yulia and Iana I tried the Russian Blini, traditional savoury Russian crepes filled with chicken and rice with a green salad and sour cream sauce.
I had a chat with Bindi Lea, CEO of The Trading Circle to learn more about the not for profit organisation, The Trading Circle and Four Brave Women
How did The Trading Circle and Four Brave Women start?
The concept of The Trading circle is to empower women to trade out of poverty. The Trading Circle allows chefs (who are all of refugee or asylum seeker background) to gain mentoring and training whilst operating and growing their own business and earning their own income.
Four Brave Women shows them the reality of the work that goes into operating their own food business but without the commitment of a huge lease or investing thousands of dollars into equipment. It gives them the time, space and experience to work out if they do indeed want to pursue owning and running their own business.
The idea began as a small seed in my head several years ago. I wanted our organisation to work alongside refugees for a long time and also wanted to create an ethical café or restaurant space as part of The Trading Circle retail store (The Trading Circle has existed for 25 years and we work with women in developing countries. They are trained and they make products which we sell in our ethical gift store). I could see the need to diversify the business model and wanted to introduce a hospitality side to what we did. I also wanted to enable people to tangibly support refugees through empowering them in business. The two ideas ran parallel in my mind without any thought of the two being one project. In 2017 they merged into what we now know as Four Brave Women and on the 6th April, 2018 after much planning we opened.
How long has it been in operation?
Four Brave Women has been operating for 9 months now and during that time we have had families of chefs from Iran, Iraq, Ethiopia, Russia, the Ukraine and Syria. In collaboration with one another they cover breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, pastries and catering.
What do you hope to achieve for Four Brave Women in say 4-5 years?
The first is for the families and individuals we work with currently to build a successful and sustainable business and to go out on their own. This process could take years and we will always be a part of one another’s journeys. However to get them to a place of independence is the ultimate goal.
The second is to provide this space and mentoring program to as many new chefs as possible in the same way as we have for the past 9 months and to also continue to find new and better ways to expand the program.
Thirdly, we want to continue to provide an inclusive, supportive and safe space where refugees can connect through culture, cuisine and conversation with the community in a natural way. We want the community to feel that they can walk into our space, connect with someone outside of their general circle and literally be part of changing someone’s life by simply buying a meal.
Lastly, we want to help change the conversation about refugees and asylum seekers. There is a lot of negativity in the media about the refugee crisis and in five years’ time – or sooner. I would hope to see more compassion, understanding, acceptance and a greater sense of our shared humanity. As a society we need to understand the deeper connection that we all share with one another and the responsibility that it entails. Like the quote says, “When you have more than you need build a longer table, not a higher fence.” We all need to start building longer tables.
How can the general community get involved?
The easiest way for the community to become involved is to drop in and say hello to the chefs, enjoy some food and make Four Brave Women a regular place to share meals or grab a coffee. The more customers who come in to buy a meal and engage with the chefs in our program the more that individual is empowered and uplifted. The chefs love seeing regular faces and being part of such a diverse and vibrant extended family. They miss their families, loved ones and homelands immensely and to find a place where within this diversity their cultures are also celebrated and they are embraced as part of the community makes them feel a true sense of belonging.
We also always need volunteers and Four Brave Women would not have been possible without the generosity of so many of our volunteers who regularly give their time which enables us to keep operating.
Together with people like Kylie Kwong and Bindi Lea, you can play a vital role to help change the perceptions of refugees and bring people together around the table to share a good meal.
Entry into the Carriageworks Summer Night Markets is $10 per person with kids under 12 accompanied by an adult are free. You can purchase tickets from their website. Hope to see you there!
