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Cincinnati’s Table says thank you!

Cincinnati’s Table is wrapping up for the year! Stay tuned for updates about our upcoming potluck dinner event and our cookbook featuring our chefs and recipes and highlighting the events from the year. 

Thank you to everyone who has supported the cookbook, supported this program by attending an event, volunteering at an event, and those of you who sat down and enjoyed a meal with neighbors. We hope you made connections, had a satisfied belly, and felt welcome. Big thanks to all of our chefs and artists and Jeffrey Miller for holding down the kitchen this past year.  

We’ve loved doing this “food thing” in our city. As one of our chefs, Ayse, from Turkey, said best:

“There are 7 billion people in this world and we are all connected by one thing – gathering around food”.

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It’s Welcome Week in America!

The Welcome Project teamed up this month with Cincinnati Compass and Cincinnati State to bring this unique farm to table event to life. The September event was part of Welcoming Week, a week of unity and connection building organized by Welcoming America. Welcoming America “provides the roadmap and support places need to become more inclusive toward immigrants and all residents”. The community was invited to learn and experience how immigrants impact Cincinnati’s food economy.

Cincinnati Compass co-hosted this event. They are an important organization in the city. A quick summary of who they are and what they do: “Cincinnati Compass connects immigrants, refugees, and international talent to regional resources and opportunities. We cultivate a more welcoming environment by improving knowledge and attitudes towards newcomers and advance economic and cultural inclusion to enhance the overall vibrancy and economic growth of the region”.

Madeline Ndambakuwa and Rose Che made use of the awesome demonstration auditorium at Cincinnati State to demo their dishes for the crowd, while Gary Leybman served his tasty Belarus’ Borscht Soup upstairs. Gary owns the Pickled Pig with his wife Libby so you can enjoy some of his cuisine there if you missed the event!

Gary Leybman, co-owner of the Pickled Pig in Walnut Hills

Madeline captivated the audience with stories of customs from her homeland of Zimbabwe during her cooking demo of her “Grandma’s peanut butter squash” recipe. With the aroma of warm peanut butter heating up on the stove, she took us back to a scene of cooking around the fire in Africa. She says the fire is a place of learning, for girls especially. Here, Grandma would pass down the oral traditions of the family while she cooked. There were no measuring cups or cookbooks – the girls learned by watching. Madeline says that now, she is trying to write down the recipes so they can be shared with others, here, for example.

In contrast to America, where we often use the phrase “It takes a village to raise a child”, Madeline muses, in Africa, it takes a grandmother to raise a child. Mothers would often receive land from her son-in-law and his family when their daughter was married, and they grew lots of peanuts. This is why, she says, many African recipes contain peanut butter. Before she gave samples of her creamy peanut butter squash, she left the group with a few tips for choosing the right squash:

The more orange – the more rich and creamy the squash will be The heavier the squash – the better.

Madeline Ndambakuwa: cook, artist, public speaking teacher at U.C. and Cincinnati State

Madeline during the cooking demo

Madeline Ndambakuwa’s recipe: Grandma’s peanut butter squash

Rose Che told us during the demo of her coconut joloffe rice, that she’ll be finishing up her program at the FreshLo Chef Fellowship soon. Hopefully this means Cincinnatians will be able to buy this dish locally soon! Rose enjoys sharing food inspired from her homeland of Cameroon. She uses beef shank in her joloffe rice and says the secret is well seasoned meat. Boil the meat with all the spices to really bring out the flavor. Another flavor booster – use the stock from cooking the meat for the rice. Rose added bell peppers, green beans, parsley, ginger, celery, shallots, carrots, red and white onions (and probably more!) to her rice dish. She also uses coconut milk. Her tip for buying a fresh coconut is to be sure to find a well-ripened one for the most flavor. It’s no surprise a lined formed as soon as her rice dish was ready!

Rose Che is part of the FreshLo Chef Fellowship program at the Center for Great Neighborhoods in Covington

Rose Che’s Coconut Joloffe Rice

Madeline and Rose

A neighbor enjoys some food

Volunteers serve food to guests

Thanks for all those who made it! Thanks to Gary, Madeline, Rose, Jeffrey, all of our volunteers, and special thanks to Karen Boyhen for providing wonderful illustrations and design for this event.

Photo credit: LeAnn Gardner

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Chefs Maria Bhen and Jeffrey Miller create a Cambodian dinner for Clifton neighbors

Cincinnati’s Table traveled to St John’s Unitarian Universalist church in Clifton for the July dinner in the year-long series. Reverend Mitra Jafarzadeh, gracious and kind, welcomed the community in to enjoy a meal and conversation. The St. John’s mission was felt all around. “St. John’s is committed to creating a safe and caring community, working for peace and social justice and celebrating beliefs that respect freedom of thought”.

Reverend Mitra Jafarzadeh of St. Johns

Maria Bhen left her homeland of Cambodia 10 years ago and settled in the United States. She just recently graduated from a local culinary program here in Cincinnati and if tastebuds are any measure, look for her and her Cambodian cuisine to stick around. There are very few options to get a Cambodian meal around Cincinnati with just one or two vendors opening up part-time and only recently, so it was a rare and special treat that Maria shared the food of her homeland with us! There were so many compliments to the chef coming back to her, dessert may have been stalled!

Maria Bhen, guest chef

A savory beef skewer appetizer started off the night. The main course featured fried rice and curry chicken, egg rolls, and banana namwah (deep fried bananas) for dessert.

Meanwhile, guests also had the chance to collaborate on a very special art installation piece that became a gift to the church at the end of the night. Bill Ross, Artist and Social Worker, has been instrumental in bringing recognition and opportunities for artists in Cincinnati with developmental disabilities. He co-founded the Visionaries & Voices studio which has grown to support over 130 artists, as well as Thunder-Skye gallery. Kevin White, local Artist, has been creating art since he was a small child. He has his own studio space at V&V and often works with unconventional materials to create his work and is known for his use of dot and line patterns.

Bill Ross, co-founder of V&V and Thunder-Skye, Inc

Kevin White, Artist (V&V)

Both Bill and Kevin joined the event to create a large display of painted pop cans. They’re not new to these displays - each one custom-built and holding 96 cans. Watching the installation become a work of art in real-time was fascinating. It became an assembly line of sorts, almost rhythmic, each person choosing their own color palate and adding their own unique touch to a can and moving it along. In the end, a simple ordinary item was transformed into a soothing, aesthetic display of beauty that one can get lost in like gazing into a Magic Eye poster.

The July dinner proved a fantastic turnout. Everyone was able to take home some leftovers in (compostable – thank you Jeffrey!) to go boxes.

Cincinnati’s Table is taking a break in August. Looking forward to coming to a neighborhood near you in September.

All photos credit: LeAnn Gardner

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The Welcome Project and Refugee Connect team up in honor of refugees for World Refugee Day soccer event at Xavier University

Cincinnati celebrated World Refugee Day on June 22 with a huge soccer tournament at Xavier University. Before we tell you all about the event, let’s cover a few facts. Along with celebrating the courage of refugees worldwide and showing our solidarity alongside them, educating the public about current issues is really important.

The UNHCR reports:

70.8 million individuals have been forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, violence or human rights violations.

1 in every 108 people globally is either an asylum-seeker, internally displaced or a refugee.

Syrians continued to be the largest forcibly displaced population in the world, with 13 million people at the end of 2018. That’s more than half of the Syrian population. 

Refugees children are five times more likely to be out of school than their non-refugee peers.

Only 2.9 million of the 6.4 million refugees of school-age were enrolled in primary or secondary education in 2016. More than half of them -- 3.5 million -- did not go to school.

RefugeeConnect was created to help continue providing assistance to refugees after the 90-day resettlement period ended when they first arrive in Cincinnati. Learn more about them on the website: “RefugeeConnect now acts as a resource and connector to ensure refugees have access to the programs available to them, and that they feel welcome in their adopted community”. 

They’ve been hosting the World Refugee Day Cup for six years now and described the event:

“Soccer represents the community as a connector across language and background. For the sixth annual year, RefugeeConnect will gather hundreds of Cincinnatians and Northern Kentuckians born in the United States and from more than 34 countries of origin for a day of celebration of freedom in honor of World Refugee Day. At the center of the day is a Parade of Nations and community meal featuring five local immigrant chefs with their specialty dishes all containing a unifying ingredient, rice. Join us in this day which is an entry point for many who may feel isolated to build relationships of trust and gain networks through soccer, a shared meal, and community connectivity”.

The Welcome Project signed on as a partner with the Cincinnati’s Table project providing food from around the world during half-time and coordinating a special hands-on rice flour mandala with the talented Radha Lakshmi of Utsavastu. 

Radha is a Teaching Artist in Cincinnati. She owns Utsavasta and teaches both art and cooking classes and led the creation of a spectacular, both in size and detail, mandala for the event. All were welcome to join in the mandala making process, young and old.  

Radha Lakshmi

mandala making

Much of the food prep happened off-site by some truly talented chefs. 

Bhim, Nepal: Stir-fried rice with chicken and curry. “We like to share our food, our country, and our culture with everybody”

Manzara, Ivory Coast: West African plantains. “I enjoy cooking because cooking always brings people together”.

Lakshmi (of Daal Baby), South India: Chitranna (South Indian lemon rice). “Cooking is an act of love and generosity. For me, it is very gratifying to be able to create and feed people the nourishing food that I grew up eating”.

Ayse, and Melis (of Rüya) Turkey: Tahini cookies. “There are 7 billion people in this world and we are all connected by one thing – gathering around food”.

Plaintains cooking!

Serving tahini cookies

A little of everything

However, the fun folks of Firelab pulled out all the stops with their amazing outdoor grilling equipment (their specialty!) Seriously check them out if you aren’t in the know. Their personalities are infectious and the food is just fantastic. They prepped and cooked enough camarones con cachapa for over 500 hungry soccer players and spectators in just a few hours. 

FireLab

Luis (of FireLab), Venezuela: Camarones con Cachapa (shrimp and grits). “In FireLab we cook to strengthen community, connect cultures, and celebrate creativity. We love sharing food and stories from our country (Venezuela) and elsewhere, building bridges between people and cultures using food as a universal language.

Jeffrey and Cal pulled together a volunteer army and kept the event running smoothly. Jeffrey, always calm, coordinated with all the chefs and managed to get every guest fed 😊

The entire morning and afternoon were filled with excitement; music, food, art, a parade of nations, too many soccer games to count, and plenty of smiles. 

*All photos credit: LeAnn Gardner

If you’d like to learn more about any of the above mentioned, check out the handy list of links below.

The UN Refugee Agency

The Welcome Project

RefugeeConnect

Utsavastu

FireLab

Rüya

Daal Baby

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Idea exchange at the Contemporary Arts Center with Mary Clare Reitz

Cal Cullen, artist and director of Wave Pool and instrumental in creating both The Welcome Project and Cincinnati’s Table, welcomed civic leaders and guests into her exhibition space at the Contemporary Arts Center for March’s community dinner. Cal’s exhibition “Archive as Action’ was the perfect backdrop for the roundtable discussion. Cal says of her exhibition “I am creating an activated gathering space that is intended for co-working, eating, thinking, sketching, talking, listening, and creating visions for a more perfect society.” 

The event and theme for the month, Exchange, centered around a discussion on housing in Cincinnati, specifically around the challenges and experiences of immigrants and refugees who come to our city to live and work.  The topic was chosen by Manzara Reed, originally from the Ivory Coast, who along with chef Jeffrey Miller, provided her culinary skills to serve up a West African meal for guests. Manzara attended prior Cincinnati’s Table events and was quickly recruited to lead an event once her cooking skills were made known! She’s been helping out since and is a welcome addition to the team.

Here’s what Manzara and Jeffrey crafted….

West African peanut soup ( soupe d'arachide)

West African fried plantain (Alloco)

Grilled chicken ( poulet a la braise)

Fat rice( riz au gras).

Dessert: honey and dried fruits cake.

Manzara Reed in the midst of cooking a West African meal

Mary Claire Rietz with Cal Cullen and Erika Allen of Wave Pool set up for the discussion.

Community members and leaders mingle during the March dinner.

Mary Claire Rietz, community organizer, led the discussion on housing.  She divided the guests into 5 groups using hats labeled with group number, to add a “playful element on a serious topic”. Each group was given a challenge/obstacle that immigrants and refugees face surrounding the topic of housing and were asked to think through potential solutions.

Challenges included:

Fear of Speaking Out Predatory Practices Fair Housing Renter’s Rights Trust/Mistrust

The idea generation will hopefully develop into positive future action in the city. Stay tuned….

*All photos credit: LeAnn Gardner

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Dean’s Mediterranean hosts April Cincinnati’s Table dinner

Cincinnati’s Table hosted the April community dinner in one of the most beloved of Cincinnati locations: Findlay Market. Bustling with energy and diversity, the market is Ohio’s oldest public market and continues to grow and thrive. Neighbors squeezed into the Findlay Market kitchen ready to enjoy a night of food and conversation. Dean’s Mediterranean Imports hosted the event and provided both a hearty meal and a variety of appetizers. Deans has become an iconic Cincinnati storefront at Findlay Market, family owned (now run by Kate, her father Dean is from Lebanon and immigrated to the United States in the 70’s) and offering specialty food items from all around the world, notably, nuts, spices and oils.

The event kicked off with the community learning how to construct Lebanese stuffed grape leaf rolls.  Reach out to us if you’d like the instructions to make your own! Guests enjoyed a Mezze Board with cheese, olives, hummus, baba ghanouj, muhammara nuts, dried fruits, bread, crackers and pita chips!

Abby Schnure of the Woven Snail (and formerly of the Wave Pool team!) led guests through a fun, hands-on communal weaving activity. Abby recalled her experience leading this:

“I work with the theme of reuse throughout my artistic practice. When planning for this event I was contemplating how I could take this idea one step further towards introspection for the attendees. Transformation was the word that came to mind. I asked attendees to think about what transformation in their lives they’re currently undergoing. We can get so caught up in what we want to transform without realizing that right here, right now we are in the midst of transformation. Once they thought of where they’re at they wrote it down on fabric strips. Then I went from table to table to have each small group share and then weave their story into the collective tapestry. This was a powerful experience to hear where people are at and also the community that was created through sharing. At the end we had a communal cloth showing that we each are on our own path, but we’re all in it together”.

Abby Schnure

Photo credit: LeAnn Gardner

The April event kept neighbors busy! Between rolling grape leaves, weaving cloths, catching up with friends, and eating, eating, eating, not an idle moment passed.

Jeffrey and the team at Dean’s cooked up a feast. A full buffet was served, made up of fattouch (made with whatever veggies available + stale bread), kafta kabob with potatoes, and spicy aleppo chicken served over vermicelli rice. A delicious toppings bar was also included with turnip pickles, persian pickles, sumac onion, cucumber tomato salad, minty slaw, moroccan carrot salad, curried couscous calad, hummus, baba ghanouj, and muhammara. And, what’s a Mediterranean meal without having a slice of baklava for dessert!

*All other photos credit: The Welcome project team

Until next month…

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Winton Woods second-graders create “affirmation flags” for Cincinnati’s immigrant newcomers

Second-graders at Winton Woods have learned a new skill – embroidery! Katie Labmeier, Artist and Art Teacher, along with her students, created a full series of embroidered “Affirmation Flags” for our newest Cincinnati immigrants and refugees. The affirmations were colorful and creative, and boasted welcoming and inclusive messages like “Share the Love”, “Welcome to America”, and “Be happy”. Affirmations are intended to increase confidence and have a positive impact on thinking. They are on display at Iglesia Episcopal, host of Cincinnati’s Table May community dinner. Rev. Maggie Foote leads this Spanish-language congregation and describes it as a “joyful family-centered spiritual community” and a “good fit many immigrant families who grew up Catholic but are impeded and daunted from participating in Catholic sacraments by Catholic rules they are unable to comply with”. Maggie was a tremendous host keeping everything together as there were many moving parts and a lot of cooks in the kitchen!

Katie Labmeier and her students created affirmation “flags’ 

Speaking of cooks in the kitchen…. May’s event featured chefs from Cincinnati’s Latino, Nepali, and Ghanian communities with dishes originating from Mexico (pozole, tacos al pastor, and mole) Guatemala (shomin), El Salvador (pepian), Ghana (spinach stew, meat pie, and fried plantains), and Nepal (momos, payazi, and chow mein).  It was quite a feast! Jeffrey and Manzara kept the kitchen efficient and running smoothly.

Guest chefs from the Ghanian community

a wholllllle lot of chefs and assistants taking a break for a photograph!

momos from Nepal

Meat Pie from Ghana

Payazi from Nepal

Tacos el pastor 

more meat pies

The communities each gave a warm welcome and introduction and description of the appetizers they prepared. The Nepali community led with a short sermon and fantastic worship music. 

The night ended with two intense pinata battles that resulted in a candy explosion of epic proportions. It was a true melting pot of Cincinnatians coming together for friendship.

*All photos credit: LeAnn Gardner

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Arepas time at The Sanctuary with our Lower Price Hill neighbors

The Sanctuary, an event space and former Catholic Church, restored to its previous majestic beauty is now a social enterprise operated by Community Matters. The Sanctuary’s website explains “the space is a cornerstone of the Lower Price Hill community, serving as the primary place for family celebrations and community events. Community Matters exists to build a thriving community alongside the residents of Lower Price Hill. All of the proceeds from The Sanctuary support the programs at Community Matters such as, our food pantry, affordable housing, community laundromat, and education programs”.

Miyah Bryd, Social Enterprise and Events Manager at Community Matters

photo credit: Natalie Mancino

Love is the theme that was woven throughout this month’s Cincinnati’s Table event. February, the month of love.

A glorious church originally constructed out of the love of God. A church turned social enterprise out of the love of a community. 

The Sanctuary in Price Hill

photo credit: LeAnn Gardner

Pam Kravetz; fun-loving, Cincinnati artist (and queen) who donates her time, skills, and personality to the community out of a love of art and people.

“The Arts bring heart and love and passion.” - Pam Kravetz

photo credit: Natalie Mancino

Morella Madriz, who poured her love (and 2 days time!) into cooking the most amazing Venezuelan Arepas around town for so many friends and neighbors to enjoy together.

Morella Madriz, February’s Cincinnati’s Table chef

photo credit: Natalie Mancino

Pam crafted a cooking variety show of sorts complete with oversize spices, a dancing chicken and guest interaction. Two young boys from the audience helped “cook” Morella’s delicious Pollo Mechado recipe. What Pam had to say about the helping create the event: “What’s not to love about sharing a table with friends and family old and new? I know, the cooking and cleaning part! At least for me!! Crafting a joyful “cooking show” complete with a dancing chicken was the vehicle I used to create the joy. For me, Art, food and community are separately wonderful. Put all three together and it’s the trifecta of a perfect experience.”

pollo mechado coloring time!

photo credit: Natalie Mancino

recreating Morella’s recipe; oversized spice style

photo credit: LeAnn Gardner

Pam and her dancing chicken “assistant” looking for audience participation.

photo credit: LeAnn Gardner

Few seats and zero bellies went empty. Morella spoke about her experience leading the preparation of a traditional meal from her native Venezuela for this packed event. “The event seemed out of series because I worked a lot, almost two days, with all my love put there to get the satisfaction of seeing smiling and pleased faces after tasting the food made by me.”

….. and pleased we were!

Check out the menu below.

Morella talking with guests

photo credit: Natalie Mancino

serving the community

photo credit: Natalie Mancino

arepas time!

photo credit: Natalie Mancino

photo credit: Natalie Mancino

photo credit: LeAnn Gardner

Stay tuned to read about our March community dinner at the Contemporary Arts Center.