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Pop-up dinner event honours refugee chef’s Mexican roots

The social enterprise Flavours of Hope provides refugee women who are passionate about food an opportunity to cook for members of their new community.
Angeles Canedo
Angeles Canedo (Flavours of Hope)

The social enterprise Flavours of Hope provides refugee women who are passionate about food an opportunity to cook for members of their new community. This month, a pop-up dinner event at the new YVR Prep commissary space will showcase the culinary talents of Angeles Canedo, celebrating the flavours of pacific coastal Mexico.

At these dinners, guests sit down and experience not only a taste of food prepared by the skilled hands of the refugee women in the kitchen, but also a taste of tremendous hospitality. The dinners are about dialogue–not just in the sharing of stories by the resilient women doing the cooking, but also as the evening opens up the opportunity for guests to articulate their own stories.

Canedo will not only prepare a traditional feast of family recipes–including pico de gallo, spot prawn empanadas, and ceviche dishes highlighting local sustainable seafood including ling cod and side stripe shrimp–but also speak with the diners about her journey to Canada as a refugee claimant in pursuit of a better life for herself and her family.

The fun family-friendly evening will feature an engaging game about Spanish words, as well as a cash bar for the adults.

The Taste of the Sea and Spanish Stories evening will be held at YVR Prep’s event space, offering attendees the chance to get a glimpse of this powerful aggregate for local culinary entrepreneurs.

The pop-up dinner event includes a fundraising auction to support Flavours of Hope’s summer food market pilot to empower refugee women to earn income, receive business training, build a support network, and gain work experience by selling multi-ethnic dishes and telling stories on Granville Island this summer. Look for a variety of culinary and non-foodie items up for grabs.

Flavours of Hope: Taste of the Sea and Spanish Stories
When: Saturday, May 19 from 6-9 pm
Where: YVR Prep-A6 – 5279 Still Creek Avenue, Burnaby
Cost: $50; tickets available online