Beedie social enterprise Fusion Kitchen hosts Pakistani culinary class

Fusion Kitchen, a community-minded entrepreneurship initiative that was founded by two Simon Fraser University students and fostered in the Beedie School of Business Social Entrepreneurship Accelerator, recently hosted a special event focused on the culinary traditions of Pakistan.

Entitled  “A Taste of Pakistan”, the gathering of gourmands took place on February 8. In groups of three, Beedie students, and alumni, as well as newcomers to Fusion Kitchen, worked together to cook up a five-course Pakistani meal at the cooking class led by recent Pakistani immigrant Shahnaz Afasr.

Guests not only learned how to cook up ethnic dishes, but were also taught about Pakistani culture, their different occasions and holidays, as well as weddings.

Fusion Kitchen is the brainchild of SFU Beedie student Chantelle Buffie and SFU Communications student Sonam Swarup, who are actively involved in Enactus SFU (formerly Students in Free Enterprise, or SIFE Simon Fraser). The social venture works to create opportunities for recent female immigrants by connecting students interested in creating ethnic dishes with cooking class teachers.

Not formally trained in cooking, Afsar has over 25 years of teaching experience in her native country, but has had difficulty finding employment in Vancouver, which she immigrated to three years ago.

Wrapping up the final publicly held class of Fusion Kitchen, Buffie and Swarup are set to speak at the upcoming PechaKucha Vancouver on February 28. The pair will be speaking along side ten other women in a themed talk entitled “Women Transforming Cities”, where speakers will explore the theme of designing an ideal city for women and girls.

For more information on Fusion Kitchen, visit www.thefusionkitchen.com

Photo Credit: Fusion Kitchen Facebook Album – Christine Liew