Spice Bridge

Meet Chef Lilian Ryland.

Chef Lilian grew up in Nigeria and spent her holidays learning how to cook traditional, labor-intensive meals with her grandma.

When Lilian moved to Seattle, she learned many Americans had never had Nigerian food. She used her cooking wisdom to give more people the opportunity to easily taste the unique flavors of Nigerian food that usually takes many laborious hours to create.

Now available on her website and in PCC stores, Chef Lilian works to preserve her food heritage by offering simple and convenient meal kits for popular dishes full of authentic Nigerian flavors with her business, Naija Buka.

Check out Naija Buka’s meal kits and catering options at https://cheflilian.com/.

Meet Chef DeCoda Reese of Coda’s Kitchen.

Coda’s Kitchen serves authentic Jamaican dishes with a Southern soul food influence.

Who’s in the mood for some classic macaroni and cheese?

Chef Reese experimented with many versions of the classic Mac & Cheese dish before locking her own version down which has been well received by many people. Some people love her version so much, they rely on it, “If I don’t bring this as a side for the holidays, my family slightly disowns me for the day.”

Chef Reese remembers the moment she discovered her love of making food. It was her seventh birthday, and after a long day of working, her mom made a cherry cheesecake. Though it was a simple dessert, it looked like the same cherry cheesecake on the box the ingredients came in. Chef Reese started cooking with her mom and grandmother as a child, and so loved the activity she would use her free time to play in the kitchen.

One of Chef Reese’s most popular dishes is Jerk Chicken/Oxtail, rice and peas, and cabbage. This meal takes two days to prepare because the ingredients are marinated overnight in a blend of fresh herbs, including cinnamon, allspice, clove, and ginger, scotch bonnet peppers, onions, and vegetables, to ensure the genuine Coda’s Kitchen flavor.

The next time you’re craving authentic Caribbean soul food, get in touch with Chef Reese! https://www.ckatl.com/

Meet Chefs Zozan and Sheelan Shamdeen of Soozveen.

Soozveen translates to “the promise of love” in Kurdish.

Zozan and Sheelan are Kurdish-American sisters and avid cooks. They follow the “soozveen” philosophy when sharing their family recipes and the stories behind each dish. Their food is prepared with love and contains a history passed down through generations of women in their family. Even when exhausted, their grandmother, mother, and aunts cooked all the time, following family recipes from memory and cooking complicated dishes without measuring a thing. When Zozan and Sheelan’s mother got sick, the sisters started helping out in the kitchen. They enjoyed cooking so much, they often cooked too much! They brought their food with them to work at Highline College. The staff and teachers encouraged the sisters to start their own business. Dean Alice Madsen agreed with her staff and motivated Zozan and Sheelan with classes and support.

The Shamdeen sisters started the Mediterranean catering business in 2013 and enjoy serving groups with more than five people. Putting love into their food, Zozan and Sheelan are passionate about everything from flavors to presentation.

There are many Mediterranean/Iraqi restaurants, but Soozveen is one of only two Kurdish food businesses in King County. Zozan and Sheelan use spices from Northern Iraq, which are " the taste of the land!” Sharing food is part of Kurdish culture. “Even a very poor person will find a way to share food with a guest.” The sisters want to share their culture and the story behind each dish.

Are you craving dolmas and baklava? Great! Those are the sisters’ specialties.

https://spicebridge.org/catering/soozveen/