Tayybeh: A Celebration of Syrian Cuisine

Tayybeh is a Vancouver food company sells authentic Syrian food and employs women chefs who are Syrian immigrants and refugees. Tayybeh, which means “delicious” in Arabic, connects consumers with Syrian food products while employing newcomers who may have barriers to employment.

This unique social enterprise began as a pop-up dinner in Vancouver in October 2016 — the initiative was a one-time volunteer effort, and its intent was to break some barriers and introduce the community to Syrian cuisine. Though the group did not run any advertising, the tickets sold out super fast, and the women themselves had a great time making and serving the food.So in December later that year, they organized a similar pop-up dinner, but this time, bigger and better — and like before, tickets sold out quickly once more. 

This is when the group realized that this was a great way to create a sustainable income for the women. They formed into a food company called Tayybeh: A Celebration of Syrian Cuisine. The currently have launched three different product lines: 

• Catering: the company caters for all occasions, from weddings, to office lunches, to conferences, to birthday parties, to much more. This function consumes most of their day-to-day operations
• Food Truck: last summer, they also launched a food truck which served in Robson Square, Downtown Vancouver, once a week, as well as during special events, such as the Kitsilano Street Festival. This summer, in addition to special events, the truck will be serving twice a week.
• Packaged Foods: as well, they have a line of packaged products, which mostly consists of Syrian dips and spreads.

All products are made from authentic recipes from the chefs’ hometowns in Syria. In the Middle East, Syria is known to be the culinary capital of the region because the food is so healthy and flavourful. Tayybeh’s chefs create the food with the original tastes and savors of their individual districts.

The ladies who run the business are migrants to Canada, and have undergone numerous challenges, namely the difficulty of integration in a new country. They juggle issues around language barriers, managing big families, transiting, and much more, as they adjust to this new — and expensive — home.

Tayybeh has had tremendous reception from the community. According to Founder Nihal Elwan, “It’s all been one beautiful upward wave, if you will. Our biggest success is the welcoming support and enthusiasm from the community that we’ve received. If it weren’t for the incredible reception and interactivity from people who have attended our events or purchased from us, we wouldn’t be here.”

Tayybeh’s next goal? To take Vancouver city by storm! Not only do they want to become the biggest provider of Middle Eastern food in the city, but also to become the biggest employer of Middle Eastern women, especially those who face barriers to employment. The more business they get, the more they can employ newcomers. 

To find out more about Tayybeh, visit their website at tayybeh.com.