The warm aroma of chocolate and nuts, paired with chicken, rise from a dish inside Casa Latina, a Mexican restaurant in Saint John’s west side.
While owners Rodrigo and Aquiles Rea are used to serving up plates like this amid their traditional wall hangings and art, they’ll be relocating temporarily on Friday as part of an international food festival.
The Uptown Food Shop Hop, organized by the City of Saint John and the Saint John Local Immigration Partnership, begins Friday afternoon in a bid to bring traditional, authentic flavours to people who have been missing them and sharing these foods with others in the city.
“We came to Saint John almost four years ago and we needed a place to find our food and some other groceries to cook, so that need became a business idea,” said Rodrigo Rea.
Ronald Moncada, growth officer with the City of Saint John, says the Uptown Food Shop Hop was created as part of a welcome week event to help newcomers find familiar food and explore the city’s international grocers.
Five shops are setting up stalls in the Saint John City Market and four uptown shops are taking part from their own locations. The heart of the event will be the market, where people can pick up a map and passport, which will be stamped at participating stores and can then be entered into a draw for a chance to win an international ingredient basket.
Participating stores are also handing out recipe cards so people can recreate international dishes at home.
Pinoy City, a store that specializes in Filipino foods, is another participant.
Owner Brye Ballen has lived in Saint John for about 10 years, but had trouble finding familiar foods before he opened his own business.
“We bring Filipino products from different parts of Canada and provide it to the community here in Saint John,” he said.
The lack of international flavours is a theme among participants.
Moncada, who is originally from Colombia, said he also originally couldn’t find any imported food from his home country when he first arrived.
The food hop brings together “different communities, different neighbourhoods, throughout the world,” he said.
“It’s about having activities connecting people, different services and community organizations, to help people feel integrated.”
