Join us for the launch of Immigrant Kitchen, a new storytelling dinner series from BIPOC Foodways Alliance! This intimate evening features a four-course Cambodian-inspired meal by home cooks Phon Sann and Sina War (bios below), paired with powerful stories of migration, memory, and culture.

Date: Tuesday, April 30 at 6:00pm

Location: Harriet Brasserie, Minneapolis

Tickets: $75 (Not including alcohol; beer, wine, and nonalcoholic beverages will be available for purchase by the glass)

Menu: A four-course Cambodian meal served family style:

Sach Ko Jakak

Lemongrass beef skewers with pickled vegetables, Sina War

Suoy ya sach chruouk

Khmer-style egg rolls with minced pork, carrots and onion, Phon Sann

Salaw Koko

Chicken and vegetable soup thickened with toasted rice powder, lemongrass paste, and fermented fish, served with jasmine rice, Sina War

Ba baw banh canh sach moun

Poultry porridge with thick, chewy, cut noodles finished with fresh herbs, Phon Sann

About the Cooks:

Phonn Sann survived the Khmer Rouge during Cambodia’s brutal civil war and genocide, then a Thai refugee camp, before eventually making her way to Minnesota as a refugee immigrant along with her family. Phonn is known as the pillar of her family, communicating and showing love through her painstaking cooking and gardening skills. “The kitchen is almost a place of catharsis,” her daughter Tevy explains. “Being in the kitchen is a deep meditation for my mom. There is that other sense that goes into the food that makes it transformative– a spiritual experience.” Phonn lives in the Twin Cities with her husband Soreth. They have five children together.

Sina War comes from a Cambodian refugee family and grew up in Stockton, California before moving to Minnesota. Growing up, Sina learned about her cultural food by being put in charge of the rice. “When you grow up in a refugee family, dinner time is the most important part. And no matter what you ate, no matter how good the main dishes were, if the rice was bad, it would ruin the entire thing. And so, people couldn't enjoy the soup or the fish, the baked protein, or what have you. And so just being able to serve your family and know that no matter what craziness happens during the day, that they could have a good meal. I took away the importance of that.” She says that she can make rice “blindfolded” now, and gets endless compliments. Sina is an advocate for Minnesota’s local food systems, championing farmers’ markets both statewide and nationally. Through her professional expertise in public policy, education, and marketing, she supports local farmers and entrepreneurs. She has a new baby boy named Apollo.

Important information about our menus:

BIPOC Foodways Alliance and Immigrant Kitchen has elected not to accommodate dietary restrictions—legacy food is an important cultural asset, and asking our co-hosts to change their dishes undermines the deep histories attached to them. This is a difficult decision, as we want as many people to participate in our programming as possible. However, the foods we are presenting are already accurate and appropriate as they exist, and preserving their integrity in conjunction with our co-hosts is an integral part of our mission.

If you are a guest who cannot tolerate the menu we are presenting, we invite you to check back for a future experience that might be more amenable to your dietary needs.

Thank you for your understanding.

We can't wait to kick off the Immigrant Kitchen with you!

For more information on BIPOC Foodways Alliance, visit our website: bipocfoodways.org