{"id":5726,"date":"2022-01-28T17:22:26","date_gmt":"2022-01-28T21:22:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/?p=5726"},"modified":"2022-01-30T19:14:44","modified_gmt":"2022-01-30T23:14:44","slug":"yemeni-woman-honors-culture-and-traditions-with-catering-business-taste-of-aden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/yemeni-woman-honors-culture-and-traditions-with-catering-business-taste-of-aden\/","title":{"rendered":"Yemeni woman honors culture and traditions with catering business Taste of Aden"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Nargis Rahman – Originally Published in wdet.org<\/p>\n

Cathy Manna is the owner of Taste of Aden, a catering business serving Yemeni foods like sambosa, pastries stuffed with ground beef and minced vegetables, and khubz tawa, a square multilayered flatbread made with browned butter.<\/p>\n

She displays these foods on a picnic table at the Ford Field Park in West Dearborn, a place she likes to visit to relax.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like to make new recipes and I just love making traditional food,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

The mother of five was born and raised in a diverse neighborhood in Southwest Detroit. She says her parents encouraged her to hold on to her culture and traditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Yemeni community, our parents wanted us to stick with our tradition and culture, no matter what. It doesn\u2019t matter where we go or how we live, as long as we do not forget our language, our culture and our traditions,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Yemen of the Arabian Peninsula<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yemen is a mountainous country located southwest of the Arabian Peninsula. It\u2019s nestled between the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. It\u2019s known for its ancient historical buildings and scholars, and is often referred to as the birthplace of commercial coffee. More recently it\u2019s the site of a\u00a0civil war<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>that\u2019s led to one of the world\u2019s largest famines, displacing millions.<\/p>\n

Manna says she grew up in Michigan during a time when there weren\u2019t many Middle Eastern restaurants nor Yemeni Americans in Southwest Detroit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just a few of us living around that area back then. A lot of people didn\u2019t even know about the country called Yemen. When they would ask me in school, they would be surprised. What\u2019s Yemen? Where\u2019s that located at?\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Preserving culture and traditions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Manna says mothers taught their daughters how to cook as a way to preserve culture and hold onto traditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a child I would help my mother with basic cooking preparation like cutting onions and cleanup. I would watch her make different types of food and her homemade browned butter, which we call semn. The homemade brown butter just brings me so much memories back then with my with my mom,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

About six years ago Manna decided to bring that experience into a catering business called Taste of Aden, paying homage to a city in Yemen. She mostly catered to family and friends.<\/p>\n

Then in December 2019, she decided to launch her business on\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>to educate people about Yemeni food and culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was kind of nervous about Instagram, especially with all the stereotypes out there going on. However, I did my research, and I noticed that so many people are learning of other people\u2019s descents and cultures through Instagram,\u201d she reflects.<\/p>\n

As soon as the pandemic hit, she worried that business would slow down.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt actually went better during the pandemic. And also struggling with my previous job that was all online. That wasn\u2019t just me, but millions of other people were struggling too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Manna says customers wanted to buy homemade foods as they attempted to sign their kids into virtual classes while also working from home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t have any time cooking, especially if they\u2019re used to buying \u2026 going to the restaurants, buying ready-made food from other places.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then Ramadan rolled in when Muslims fast from dawn until dusk for a month, and eat special foods. Manna says they were afraid to buy food from stores during the early days of the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many people were just afraid of buying ready-made food or dough from the stores,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Manna says people would look for homemade specialty items on Instagram. People bought sambosas, grape leaves and her special shuttney, tomato salsa with homegrown peppers.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of my dough is all made from scratch, especially the sambosa. The sambosa dough is a back killer. And I would not give up on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Manna says she likes to mix her own spices, create fusion foods and put a Yemeni twist on other types of foods in the comfort of her home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love meeting new people and having them try my food and making sure that it\u2019s all homemade and fresh,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cYemeni cuisine within your reach\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Najat Nahshal\u00a0has been a customer of Taste of Aden for about a year. She says she can\u2019t get enough of Manna\u2019s homemade Yemeni dishes like zurbian,\u00a0a signature lamb and potato rice dish.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had zurbian from multiple cafes, Yemeni cafes\/restaurants, in Dearborn, Hamtramck and I truly believe the her lamb zurbian was by far hands down the best one that I\u2019ve had. It just has that like homemade touch to it and that authenticity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving authentic Yemeni food that\u2019s available here in the United States in Dearborn, conveniently, it almost feels as though the entire Yemeni cuisine it\u2019s all within your reach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nahshal says it means a lot to see Yemeni women thriving in small businesses.<\/p>\n

Cathy Manna says she hopes her efforts inspire people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere weren\u2019t too many role models for Middle Eastern women having their own business because of stereotypes. I am proud of myself to be my own role model. And I\u2019m also happy with all these other women out there that are struggling and thriving,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Manna launched Taste of Aden a few years before the pandemic. While she was afraid COVID-19 would put her out of business, it became an opportunity for her to cook homemade meals for families, educate people about her Yemeni culture, and become a role model for Yemeni and minority women to pursue their passions.<\/p>\n

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