North + east african SUMMER FEASTS

DATES

Thursday 29th Feb I 6:30PM - 9:30PM
Friday 1st Mar I 6:30PM - 9:30PM

LOCATION
Free to Feed, 205-211 Queens Parade, Fitzroy North

STARTERS
Halima H’s Sambusa w/ Red + Green Chini | Pastry pockets filled w/ spiced vegetables + served w/ spicy red chilli sauce (vegan)
Besara w/ Pita Bread | Fava bean dip w/ coriander, leeks + fried onions (vegan/gf/nf - besara) (vegan/nf - pita bread)
Babaganoush | Smoked eggplant dip (vegetarian/nf)

MAINS
Halima A’s Okra Braise | (df/nf)
Injera | Fermented flat bread (vegan/nf)
Nada’s Tomato + Eggplant Salad (vegan/nf)
Orlin’s Black Olive + Orange Salad (vegan/nf)
Halima H’s Rice w/ Almonds, Fried Onions + Sultanas (vegetarian)

DESSERT
Served with Halima H’s Chai Tea
Orlin’s Sfenj | Moroccan doughnuts (gf/vegan/nf)
Mastic Mehalbia (vegetarian/gf)

Please note: Our North + East African menu is vegetarian friendly. Due to the shared nature of these feasts, individual dietaries outside of this are not able to be accommodated. We apologise for any disappointment.

NADA
Nada’s Egypt extends far beyond richly-coloured deserts and ancient pyramids, to a place of intricate cities which never sleep, streets seeped in the scent of onion and garlic, and tightly stuffed vine leaves served with fresh yoghurt and cucumbers. Her food is a portal to this home, juxtaposing the bustling streets of Cairo, to the villages and farms where butter is made fresh by her grandmother. A trained Archaeologist, Nada’s passion for cooking is entwined with a curiosity and appreciation for her country’s deep history, paying homage to ancient techniques within her recipes.

HALIMA H
Halima’s childhood was spent around her Ayeyo’s (grandmother) table, a place for talking, learning and eating. They’d gather for every meal as if it were a celebration, starting the morning with prayer and a communal Somali breakfast, a ritual kept alive through her Ayeyo’s freshly baked bread. Halima remembers their kitchen as the beating heart of their home, a blur of noise, people and life in constant action. Halima’s Ayeyo’s, Khadiijo, would say, ‘if you see the dish and it’s beautiful, you can taste good things.’

ORLIN
Orlin’s cooking is an invitation to be messy, to be loud and to speak with our hands. She shares her recipes in honour of her nomadic Moroccan Amazigh heritage and the spontaneity, vibrancy and chaos of the never-ending feasts from her childhood. Orlin’s stories are a call for reconnection and communal living - from tales of washing dishes with sand in the hot Sahara desert of her ancestors, to breaking Challah bread every Friday in a nod to her Jewish roots, to her Sfenj Moroccan donuts strung together with Palm leaves and ready to be shared with others.

HALIMA A
Halima is from Eritrea, a land she tells us is incredibly green and loud with so much laughter. Spring is her favourite season - the flavour of vegetables is richer and the garden grows beautifully. Back home her generous grandmother grew everything, and there was always enough for everyone. Halima’s favourite vegetable is okra, Bmieh in her language. She cooks it in spiced lamb curries or with kofte, eating it with rice and injera bread. The best okra she’s ever had was fresh from her grandmother’s garden. Cooking for people is Halima’s happy place.

Anchored by a resonant voice, exhibiting the best of a storyteller and expressing his influences stemming from his Shilha Moroccan and Italian cultural roots, Australia’s Jad Pinnone is a sonic poet, blending ambient blues, folk and soulful R&B-infused maqam chants blending Moroccan folklore and spiritual Gnawa music with the alternative. Enchanting and distinctive, Jad Pinnone creates hypnotic soundscapes with dreamy, atmospheric elements that transport the listener to a world of their own.