Women of Syria Dinner Hosted by Alon Shaya& Ingrid Hoffmann Part of the CRAVE Greater Fort Lauderdale Series at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts

Photography by Loamis Rodriguez on February 23rd, 2018 in Lifestyle, The Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival 2018

Fort Lauderdale, FL – February 23, 2018 – Renowned chefs Alon Shaya, James Beard Award-winning chef whose namesake restaurant in New Orleans was named “Best Restaurant in America” in 2015 by Esquire, and Ingrid Hoffmann, popular Colombian-American television personality and cookbook author, joined forces to bring the South Beach Wine & Food Festival goers a heritage food experience unlike any other at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. This family-style dinner was prepared by women representing two organizations dedicated to supporting Syrian refugees – the Denver-based Comal Heritage Food Incubator and Miami-based Zaytouna and Syrian Supper Club. Following a “learning while earning” model, Comal offers job training, culinary arts and language education for its classes of aspiring entrepreneurs while they work to serve up authentic, multicultural dishes at its lunchtime spot Comal Kitchen in Denver. Similarly, Miami’s Syrian Supper Club has been giving South Floridians the opportunity to explore the rich cultural traditions of Syria for years now. They have expanded with the creation of its business enterprise arm, Zaytouna (the Arab word for “olive branch”), to offer refugees the opportunity for permanent employment and development of a packaged foods line. Guests at this special dinner got to taste the deep-rooted heritage of these Syrian refugees and hear first-hand about their journey to America.