When Rania Chakkl, husband Gaby Dayekh and their four children arrived in Powell River in June 2016, they had left everything behind.
Escaping war-torn Syria, the refugee family needed to start over with a new language, culture and jobs. The transition is ongoing, but with the help of a caring community behind them, progress is being made.
Dayekh secured work, however Chakkl must also supplement the family’s income. Back in Aleppo, she was a university-educated teacher of Arabic. In addition to taking full-time English classes, Powell River Immigrant Services Society matched Chakkl with volunteer and local business owner Mar Grantham, who has become her mentor.
“Rania wanted to start her own business and she wanted to have something to do with food, maybe open up a restaurant,” said Grantham.
Grantham said she counselled Chakkl to “walk before she ran” as she had no previous business experience. Instead they started small and after helping her with Canada’s food guidelines and securing proper certifications, Chakkl began selling traditional Syrian food at the local farmer’s market last April.
“Right away people were so welcoming to her, they tried her food and loved it,” said Grantham. “She sold out of her hummus every time.”
Chakkl’s hummus is a recipe of her own creation, borne out of necessity after she was unable to find the Syrian-style of hummus she loved locally.
“I never made hummus on my own, but here I started to try,” she said.
Syrian hummus has a different flavour and texture than what is traditionally found in Canadian restaurants and supermarkets, said Grantham.
Once the market season ended, Grantham suggested Chakkl start wholesaling her hummus. This was how Mama Rania’s Syrian Cuisine Hummus came into being.
Grantham helped Chakkl through the processes involved with setting up a food business in Canada, from acquiring a business licence to the many steps and protocols involved with selling in individual stores.
From the start, people and businesses throughout the community stepped up to help Chakkl get her venture off the ground. From donating money and necessary equipment to providing professional services, including bookkeeping, graphic design and advertising, to discounts from local stores, the support has been very humbling, said Chakkl.
“When you see people help you and love you, it’s very great,” she added.
Since launching in one shop last December, the hummus is now carried in three stores locally. The response has been overwhelming, said Grantham.
“Rania did a demo/sampling for two days and she sold out within three hours the first day and two the second day,” she added.
Chakkl now has reorders from all three stores and is in talks with a fourth location.
In addition to cooking, Chakkl loves to sing. She will be performing at Hands Across the Water Powell River Refugee sponsorship group’s West Meets East Feast on April 21.
