Made Local Magazine, Nov/Dec 2024

“I come from a country where hunger dominated our population,” explains Jules Sinai, who arrived in Sonoma County last year from Haiti, “so, I know the importance of feeding people and am passionate about food and the happiness it can make in people’s lives.”

Despite recent false claims from fear-mongering politicians, Haitian immigrants are arriving to the United States with a rich and delicious culinary heritage—one that Sinai is proud to share with his new American neighbors. This includes his favorite, jouwoumou, a Haitian squash soup, as well as dishes like twice-fried plantains, pork griot slow-cooked with citrus and served with pickled vegetables, and pen patat, a sweet potato pudding with coconut milk, cinnamon, and a touch of rum.

These mouth-watering delicacies were just a few of the international offerings at a recent pop-up hosted by Sonoma Family Meal, a Petaluma-based nonprofit organization. Alongside dishes from Sinai’s home country, customers could also order Afghan ginger chicken, Oaxacan tamales, Jordanian baklava, and Fijian cassava cake, to name just a few. The chefs behind this eclectic array are all participants in Sonoma Family Meal’s culinary program that offers no-cost, bilingual culinary job training for low-income individuals facing barriers to employment.