By: Kelly Geng

TORONTO – One of the most diverse cities in the world with tens of hundreds of races existing, co-existing, and co-creating; thriving in their own way. One is able to walk down a single street and have meal options ranging from spicy Indian phaal curry and Greek moussaka to Bruschetta from Italy. Unfortunately, no setup is without its faults and Toronto’s lack of Syrian cuisine is currently being corrected by the resettlement of a little over 50,000 refugees in the greater Toronto area.

Soufi’s a casual, fast, up and coming restaurant located in downtown toronto offers authentic Syrian food alongside old Arabic pop songs playing in the background, sumac and za’atar smells in the air, paired with friendly staff wearing t-shirts that say “From Syria, With Love”. Soufis is extra curious and special seeing as it is one of the many restaurants a part of the Syrian food boom.

Interestingly, the entrepreneurs behind the opening of these restaurants are shockingly diverse with ages ranging from as young as 17 to over 70, professions such as reputable professors to illiterate farmers, and identities like Shia, Sunni, Druze, Kurd, Alawite, Christian, or simply Syrian. Most having worked in the restaurant industry; others having never cooked a Syrian meal.

This brings the conversation to why the boom of Syrian food? The answer to this question is simple due to the immense amount of refugees that Canada has taken and is taking in within the past two years. This is due to the civil war that has been happening in Syria for the past seven years. A long history lesson and crash course on Syrian government, power and corruption cut short, the fighting in Syria is between the soldiers who support the Syrian president Bashar al Assad and the rebels who are opposing the regime and trying to seize control of the country.

More on the civil war, a group that calls itself Islamic State or IS has made advances to gain land in parts of eastern Syria. All the while, the conflict increases in bloodshed due to several other countries such as Syrian government supporters Russia, Iran and siding with the rebels, the US, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Fortunately, around 50,000 Syrian citizens that were in imminent danger have seeked the refuge they’ve sought after for the past several years in Canada. On a lighter, happier note, even though chaos ensues in Syria, Syrian refugees in canada are beginning to find peace again through their food and culture.

Backtracking to Soufils, an authentic Syrian restaurant in the heart of Toronto; seeing as Canada has embraced the arrival of Syrian refugees, Soufils has thrived and achieved a sort of celebrity status when it comes to hot new places to eat out. Restaurant owner Shahnaz’s daughter says Syrians were  “more than just victims.” Through this, people are able to gain an understanding on how food and culture has helped their situation. His daughter Jala continues to say “because even though the situation in Syria is very unfortunate, it is important to show Syrian culture, music and art.”

A look into manaeesh

One specific dish that is Shahnazs families specialty is called manaeesh. This street food is freshly baked flatbread topped with sujuk (ground beef with spices), halloumi cheese with lemony spinach, knafeh which is a gooey type of cheese, phyllo strands, rose water and syrup.If you find yourself wandering around  Queen St W, downtown Toronto, you should most definitely pay Souflis a visit and take traditional manaeesh a test drive.

Works Cited

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26116868

https://www.cnn.com/specials/middleeast/syria
https://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Syria.html