A Taste of Morocco
Sharing Culture Through Food and Hospitality
At One World Kitchen, every meal tells a story. Immigrants and refugee chefs are invited to share the flavors and traditions of their home country. Through pop-up dinners, meals-to-go, and culinary entrepreneurship training, this initiative builds pathways into Cleveland's food sector. Leading that mission is Hanan Es Sabar, The Hope Center’s Cafe Manager.
Staff and students from The Hope Center know that whenever they stop by the cafe, Hanan is likely to have a new dish to sample or a hot cup of tea ready to share. Her generosity was shaped thousands of miles away, in the place where she learned that food is about much more than what appears on the table.
Growing up in Morocco, Hanan experienced a culture rich in diversity. From the Spanish influences of the north to the African traditions of the south, each region had its own flavors, customs, and identity. Hanan grew up in Beni Mellal, a lively city where many influences came together. Years later, she would find something similar at The Hope Center.
Yet some of Hanan's strongest memories come from the summers she spent in her grandparents' remote village where life moved at an unhurried pace. Her grandparents' home was always ready for visitors, with a special room reserved for guests. Neighbors dropped by unexpectedly, and within minutes, tea was being poured from a silver teapot and food was appearing on the table. Guests were never viewed as an interruption but welcomed with warmth.
"When guests came, my grandmother would give them the best she had,” Hanan remembers. “She prepared meals with a wood oven and made bread from scratch. It was very simple, but had a big meaning. There was so much love, care, and peace."
Years later, after immigrating to the United States in 2014, those same values helped shape Hanan's path. As a new immigrant with young children, she was searching for opportunities to learn English. Another immigrant mother told her about The Hope Center.
“I was crying tears of happiness when I found The Hope Center,” Hanan says. “There was childcare and a van to pick me up.” She enrolled in classes, volunteered, built friendships, and eventually became a pillar of the community. “I thank God and The Hope Center for this opportunity for immigrants and refugees.” Along the way, Hanan began sharing her cooking with teachers and students.
The Hope Center introduced One World Kitchen pop-up dinners in 2023, featuring meals from around the world, including Morocco. This series of cultural dining experiences quickly became a way for immigrant and refugee chefs to share their stories while introducing Clevelanders to new cultures through food.
In 2024, One World Kitchen relaunched as a workforce development program through a partnership with EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute and chef Brandon Chrostowski. A multi-year grant from KeyBank Foundation fuels the effort. The six-month culinary entrepreneurship program equips newcomers with culinary, business, and leadership skills needed to thrive in Cleveland's food industry. Hanan regularly prepares One World Kitchen pop-up dinners and meals-to-go with the program’s graduates.
In many ways, Hanan is still doing what she learned from her grandparents all those years ago: setting a table and inviting people in, only now, that table is larger. It stretches across cultures, languages, and continents, bringing people together through food and reminding them of the goodness and joy found in our shared humanity.
