With a love for food and a love for Newfoundland, these vendors are looking to bring authentic international food to St. John’s.
Muhammad Nasir, who came here from Karachi, Pakistan, the most populated city in that country, fell in love with the quieter Newfoundland culture, he said.
“There are like 24 or 25 million people in that city, so it’s very crowded. St. John’s is a nice break for me.”
Nasir has been in Canada for nine years. He moved here to pursue a master’s degree in computer science from Memorial University.
“I love the people, I love the friendliness. It’s a very family oriented province, I find. People have time for each other. They’re kind and they’re friendly. I love it here. They’d have to push me out for me to leave.”
In 2015, Nasir and his wife started Curry Delight, wanting to bring flavour and authentic Pakistani and Indian food to St. John’s.
“You buy butter chicken in the store and they’re not actually an authentic representation of Pakistani and Indian food,” he said.
“My mom, she is a really good cook, so she trained us. When we came to St. John’s, we were missing a lot of intensity in the food.”
Food is always a conversation starter, he said.
“Everyone can relate with food. It’s the most common thing as a human being, everyone can relate to good food.”
Elena Diyanova and her husband, originally from Moscow, Russia, are used to relocating due to a job that resulted in many transfers.
After living in Texas for two years, they moved to Newfoundland three years ago and loved everything about it.
When the time came for another possible transfer, they felt they had to refuse, she said.
“We have two boys and it’s the first time in our life that our boys asked us to please not move anymore,” Diyanova said.
“At that time, we thought about what kind of value we can bring to Newfoundland. We started exploring and discovered that there is a limit of healthy, natural products on the island. People are so busy, even if they appreciate good quality food, they don’t have time to cook.”
Newfound Perogi, the Diyanovas’ product, are locally made, frozen perogies that just need to be boiled for three to four minutes.
“The idea is you shouldn’t spend more than five minutes in the kitchen and you can get fast and healthy food at the same time. The perogies are very easy and you can use any kind of sauce, so it’s very universal.”
Nasir and Diyanova had booths at the Multicultural Arts and Crafts market hosted by Memorial University’s Internationalization Office on Friday. Other booths included crafts, art and jewelry from a variety of countries.
Valeri Pilgrim, the housing and arrivals program co-ordinator for the Internalization Office, said the market is more than just a market.
“It’s not just a way to sell their art, crafts and food, but it’s a way to get them connected to the outside community, too.”
Originally for students, the market has grown, Pilgrim said.
“In the last two or three years, we decided to bring in community vendors as well.”
