wfn.org | In Pennsylvania, Iraqi refugee chef headlines new “Recipes with Refugees” series

["Lesley Crosson" <lcrosson@churchworldservice.org>]

>Church World Service
>475 Riverside Drive
>New York, New York 10115
>(212) 475-2061

>For Immediate Release
>September 11, 2009

Editors:  Photos to accompany story can be downloaded at
http://www.churchworldservice.org/media/

In Pennsylvania, Iraqi refugee chef headlines new “Recipes with
Refugees” series

Zina Alkubaisy, a refugee from Iraq, has been in the United States only
since May, but she already is getting to be known as “Chef  Zina.” She is the premiere chef in the new “Recipes with Refugees”  cooking
class series launched by her sponsor, the Church World Service Refugee
Resettlement Program in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

CWS employee Catherine Haynes developed the “Recipes with  Refugees”
idea after visiting several refugee clients’ kitchens awash with
wonderful fragrances from diverse countries’ cuisines.

Kreutz Creek Presbyterian Church in York, Pennsylvania, hosted the
first class, on July 22.  “We had slots for 25 but ended up with  38
people and a waiting list!” said CWS Lancaster Director Sheila
McGeehan.

The second class will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. September 16 at the
Pennsylvania Church Center in Harrisburg and is being hosted by the CWS
Pennsylvania Regional Office.  Space is limited to 35 participants. Attendees must preregister by phoning 717-909-9038.  A $15 donation is
requested to cover the cost of the food, and includes a small
contribution to CWS.

“Chef Zina” will show how to make biryani (rice with  vegetables and
chicken), a traditional Iraqi dish.  She also will prepare and bring
other Iraqi dishes for everyone to sample.  Attendees receive recipes
and a shopping list for the ingredients.

Attendees also learn about Church World Service and about Iraqi
culture, and hear Alkubaisy’s story of escape from Iraq with her
husband and their two young children after her husband was kidnapped. He got away from his captors after a day, but was warned to leave Iraq
with his family.

They fled the country, spending time in Jordan and in an African
refugee camp before being accepted for U.S. resettlement by the U.S.
refugee program.  Zina and her husband worked for U.S. contractors
rebuilding post-invasion Iraq.

Contact: Lesley Crosson, (212) 870-2676, media@churchworldservice.org Carol Fouke-Mpoyo, (212) 870-2673, cfouke@churchworldservice.org