Podcasts about mera kitchen collective

Brief summary of episode:Aisha immigrated to the US from Kuwait for school when she was eighteen, and came to Baltimore by way of Milwaukee and Portland, Oregon. Since moving, she has engaged with Baltimore's refugee community as a mentor and interpreter. She often finds herself invited into the lives, homes - and stories - of individuals, and feels fortunate to see glimpses of their journeys to America and views on their current situations. For Aisha, stories are powerful in understanding the past and changing future narratives around refugees and immigrants. She believes that food is a collection of stories that are triggered and shaped through memories of feelings and current interactions of  one's environment. Aisha is a cultural broker, bridging and bringing together different cultural backgrounds, and helping to amplify self-narratives. Aisha provides the vital link to refugee and immigrant community, ensuring that at every step of the way, Mera's decisions reflect the actual needs of the community it serves. In addition to her roles with Mera, Aisha serves on the Baltimore's Community Advisory Board for the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs.Aisha's favorite food is Iranian bread made in a dive-in oven — but when she can't find that, she loves to eat Chef Iman's za'atar bread, because it reminds her of her grandma's. About Mera Kitchen CollectiveFood brings people together, no matter where you are from. It's a ritual, we gather with our friends and family around the table, not only feeding our bodies but feeding our souls, connecting with people we care about.  Mera Kitchen Collective is a community-driven, food business and we're building a worker cooperative. We focus on the empowerment of chefs from around the world by celebrating our skills and talents in the kitchen, highlighting the value newcomers bring to the fabric of our society. We love Baltimore. We also recognize that policies and systems can create structural barriers that make it harder for some individuals to gain access to resources and opportunities -- and easier for others. Our goal as a collective is to amplify our chefs skills and talents.Why 'Mera Kitchen'? We chose the name Mera Kitchen because it contains the Greek word meraki, which has no direct English translation. Both a verb and an adverb, it connotes that when someone is doing an activity — like cooking — with so much care, devotion, and attention to the task at hand, that they leave a piece of themselves in it. In a world where our attention is often divided, we believe that there is immeasurable beauty and  power in the collective act of creating and sharing food made with love.What we do: Mera Kitchen Collective hosts pop-up events, and we offer catering services and cooking classes throughout Baltimore City. Mera's chefs come from all over the world; many are here seeking refuge, eager to put skills back to use to re-establish an independent, sustainable livelihood. We hope to connect you with our chefs and our chefs with their local community. And now we're opening our first restaurant! In October 2021, we moved to our first space! We're currently open for lunch and expanding hours weekly! We envision our new home as place that represents our diverse cultures as a team at Mera, and the community that we integrated into Baltimore. It is a vehicle to share our cultures; the aroma of cardamom in a rice dish, the tangy spices of salsa verde, fruity, tropical baked goods, and the refreshing gingery mint juices of Burkina Faso. This space is an opportunity for our cooks and chefs to fully express themselves, re-invent their food, collaborate with one another, and most importantly take the Baltimore community on a culinary adventure around the world. We believe in the power of communing over food, on long tables, with shared plates, in conversation, and in pausing to connect with new and old friends.Mera Kitchen Collective is a building a worker cooperative - we participate democratically as we build our business together. This allows for each of us to only strengthen culinary expertise and have a voice in the operations. We hope to use the cooperative model as a successful tool for wealth generation and fostering empowerment.The Truth In This ArtThe Truth In This Art is a podcast interview series supporting vibrancy and development of Baltimore & beyond's arts and culture.Mentioned in this episode:Mera Kitchen CollectivePhoto CreditTo find more amazing stories from the artist and entrepreneurial scenes in & around Baltimore, check out my episode directory.Stay in TouchNewsletter sign-upSupport my podcastShareable link to episode★ Support this podcast ★

Here is a Stoop Story from Aishah Al Fadhalah about her experiences as an immigrant in the US and how the Mera Kitchen Collective was born.  Some events coming up: Edgar Allan Poe Festival and Awards is happening Oct 2 and 3. It's two days of books, music and art -- all happening at the Edgar Allan Poe house and museum at 203 North Amity St. in Baltimore. And the Center for Neighborhood Innovation at the renovated Hoen Lithograph is offering all sorts of community supports, as well as live music and food from vendors … from 1 to 4 pm Sat. Oct. 2. That's at 2101 East Biddle Street in Baltimore. And finally, there is a LIVE stoop storytelling event coming up in a little over two week: on Monday, Oct. 18 at 7 pm at Baltimore Center Stage. The theme is “Didn't See That Coming! Stories about shocks, surprises, and real-life plot twists.”We have a link to how to get tickets for that, as well.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As we enter this Memorial Day weekend, folks are feeling much, much better about going out and enjoying the things we weren’t able to enjoy during the long months of the pandemic. For people who are vaccinated, going to a restaurant is no longer tantamount to risking your life. For unvaccinated people, it’s a different story, for them and for those around them, but as more people, including teens and children, get their jabs, that special date or taking the family out are no longer a problem.Today on Midday, three perspectives on restaurants. Tom's first guest is Marshall Reston, Jr.. He is the President and CEO of the Restaurant Association of Maryland, an organization that represents about 25% of the restaurants in our state. Marshall Reston joins us on Zoom. Tom speaks next with Emily Lerman. She is a co-founder of the Mera Kitchen Collective and a Project Officer with the Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy, an organization that helps co-op businesses get funding and get organized around a worker-owned model. And with her friend Irena Steinof Alma Cocina Latina, Emily is employing restaurant workers and preparing free meals for World Central Kitchen. Tom's final guest today is Christina Tkacik. She covers restaurants and dining for the Baltimore Sun. She’ll be here right after this quick break. All our guests joined us on Zoom. Theses conversations were recorded on Tuesday, so we couldn't take any calls or online comments for today's broadcast. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The coronavirus rocked the food industry. An trade survey estimates that one out of six restaurants has faced permanent or long term closure since March. Baltimore Magazine food editor Jane Marion tells us how local eateries are improvising and preparing for an uncertain winter. Read last month's cover issue, "The Great Restaurant Reinvention," here. And Emily Lerman and Aishah Alfadhalah, two of the founders of Mera Kitchen Collective, tell us about their shift to a massive meal-distribution effort.

Here’s a Stoop Story from Aishah Alfadhalah about the beauty and power of a shared meal. You can hear her story and many others at stoopstorytelling.com, as well as the Stoop podcast.You can also get a taste of the Mera Kitchen Collective’s offerings at the Baltimore Farmers’ Market on Sunday mornings or at one of their events.

The holidays are a time of year for giving back and lending a hand to help those in your community. To honor this, this week on the Gensler Design Exchange podcast, we’re celebrating issue advocacy through the power of design. On this episode, Elaine Asal, design strategist in our Gensler Baltimore office, talks with Ryan Cavanaugh (design manager, Gensler Atlanta), Michael Adkins (consulting strategist, Gensler D.C.), Meredith Baber (marketing manager, Gensler D.C.), and Christian Fortuno (technical designer, Gensler Miami) about their recent collaboration with Mera Kitchen Collective, a community-driven, food-based cooperative focused on the empowerment of refugee and immigrant women. 

Savoring flavors and conversation over a meal can bridge cultures and bring people together. Today we learn how the Mera Kitchen Collective puts that idea in action. Two of its co-founders--Liliane Makole and Aishah Alfadhalah -- tell us what’s behind the community-driven, food-based cooperative and how it empowers refugee and immigrant women by tapping into their passion for cooking, expressing goals and creating community.

Tom is joined now by Jeremy Lyons and Aishah Alfadhalah. Lyons is a guitarist and composer, and a member of Pique Collective, the Baltimore-based contemporary music ensemble, whose fellow members join Jeremy in Studio A for a brief performance of one of his original compositions. Alfadhalah, a native of Kuwait, is one of the founders of the Mera Kitchen Collective, an organization here in Baltimore that empowers female immigrants through food entrepreneurship.They will all be part of an event this Sunday evening called “Today I Welcome You, Tomorrow I Welcome You,” -- an event of music, art and good food centered on the stories of recent immigrants and refugees in Baltimore. The event will be held at the 2640 Space, at 2640 Saint Paul St. in Baltimore, Sun. Nov. 4, from 6 - 8 pm. Pique Collective is Lisa Perry (soprano), Stephanie Ray (piccolo), Nonoka Mizukami (bongos), Peter Kibbe (cello), and Jeremy Lyons (guitar).Today's conversation, and the performance by members of Pique Collective, were live-streamed on WYPR's Facebook page, and you can see the video here.

We’re switching things up at The Tidbit for the next few episodes! Instead of talking about the core tenants of starting and running a business, we are featuring different food and beverage entrepreneurs in the DC and Baltimore Metro Areas, and the amazing products and projects they’re working on. This week? Mera Kitchen Collective — a co-op business from Baltimore that provides underrepresented refugee and immigrant individuals with entrepreneurial success through true ownership and community connections.