‘They give me the support and the power to stand up and start from zero’ | Meet Chef Mawda Altayan
5onyourside – KSDK
Mary Thaier | Mar 27, 2024
ST. LOUIS — On a Saturday afternoon in the Central West End, a group of women are learning, chopping, and connecting.
It is a cooking class hosted by Welcome Neighbor STL’s Supper Club at STL Foodworks.
The local nonprofit works to support refugee families and foster a community where immigrants flourish as friends and neighbors.
They carry out this mission in the kitchen. Refugee chefs cook the food of their home countries at dinners, festivals, cooking classes, and drive-thru events.
On the menu today is ouzi rice with vegetables paired with hummus. It’s an authentic Syrian recipe taught by Chef Mawda Altayan.
After coming to St. Louis from Syria in 2016 as a refugee, Mawda helped launch the Welcome Neighbor Supper Club program as their first chef.
“I’m a mom of four kids, and when I came here, it was very difficult for me to stand up and start from like zero with no language, no family, and no support,” Altayan said.
Mawda’s struggle is similar to what many refugees experience when they are thrust from their homes and forced to rebuild a new life in an unfamiliar place.
“But with the community support, they give me the support and the power to stand up and start from zero,” she said.
