WASHINGTON 鈥� When Noobtsaa Philip Vang moved to D.C. from Minnesota to attend graduate school at Georgetown University, the first thing he missed was his mom鈥檚 cooking.
鈥淚 was like, 鈥楳an, I wish I could just find a grandma or an auntie in the neighborhood and just buy some of her food,鈥欌�� said Vang, the son of Hmong parents who came to the U.S. from Lao as refugees after the Vietnam War.
What he didn鈥檛 understand is why a business model like it didn鈥檛 exist 鈥� especially in a city, and an era, where everything from sake to spa treatments are available with the click of an app.
So in October 2016, Vang launched , a meal-delivery company that features family-style dishes from global cuisines, all made by emerging immigrant chefs. The business finally gave Vang a taste of home, and it also provided aspiring cooks in the local immigrant community a chance to showcase their food and culture.
鈥淭here was a great opportunity here to help create jobs for people just like my mom, because she had a very hard time when she came here,鈥� Vang said.
Syrian native Majed* attended five years of culinary school and worked in restaurants in Syria and Jordan before he and his family moved to the U.S. 10 months ago. After originally settling in Arizona and working at a Mexican-American restaurant, now spends his days at Foodhini, whipping up dishes such as shawarma and moussaka out of Union Kitchen鈥檚 Ivy City warehouse.
鈥淚 want people in America to taste Syrian food,鈥� said Majed, who, after years of studying how to master French, American and Turkish cuisines, is now making food from his homeland.
Meals made by Majed that are delivered to the doorsteps of hungry Washingtonians may look and taste like fattoush salad and shish taouk, but Vang says they鈥檙e so much more than that.
鈥淔ood is the first step in learning about a person鈥檚 background and learning about their story,鈥� Vang said.
鈥淓verybody is coming from different places and different parts of the world, so it鈥檚 really a way for them to come here and to do something that鈥檚 familiar to them, something that they鈥檙e really good at, and to be able to share that with other people.鈥�
In addition to Majed, Foodhini employs two other chefs 鈥� Vang found them by word-of-mouth or through churches active in refugee resettlement 鈥� including , who specializes in Laotian cuisine, and , a Syrian cook.
Vang estimates Foodhini fills between 100 and 140 orders per week. Customers place their meal-for-two orders at least 24 hours in advance, choosing three dishes from the chefs’ rotating menus for a total of $39.
Popular items include Mem鈥檚 Khao Poon Nam Pah (a Lao noodle soup), Ghosoun鈥檚 fresh labneh and Majed鈥檚 chicken shawarma. And while Vang appreciates positive feedback from customers, his chefs cherish it even more.
鈥淭hey just love that people who aren鈥檛 from Syria or aren鈥檛 from Laos or aren鈥檛 from Thailand are eating the food and liking it,鈥� Vang said. 鈥淚f they know somebody likes their food, then they know they are connected in a way.鈥�
As of now, Foodhini only delivers in the District, but with plans for an upcoming expansion, Vang is hoping to service additional neighborhoods in the Metro area soon.
鈥淚t鈥檚 giving us a lot of momentum 鈥� what鈥檚 going to be the next cuisine, who鈥檚 going to be the next chef 鈥� and that鈥檚 really exciting,鈥� he said.
*Editor’s Note: The last names of the chefs were withheld from this article.聽
