52 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • APRIL 25, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
����������������������������������������������������������������������������
��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
As the Culinary King of Queens, I’m so very fortunate to live in the most diverse and delicious destination in all of New York
City. And I’m even luckier to be a Tastemaker for the World’s Fare, a celebration of global cuisine and culture, which will
be held on May 18 and 19 at Citi Field. In the weeks leading up to the Fare, I’ll be profiling some of my favorite vendors from
Queens and beyond. Today, a look at Tanabel Table, a Middle Eastern catering and event company from Brooklyn’s very
own Chef Hannah Goldberg.
��������������������������������
Chef Hannah Goldberg
named her catering and
events company Tanabel Table
after the Souk el Tanabel
in Damascus. Tanabel means
“lazy person” in Arabic, and
the company takes its name
from the bustling market
where merchants farm all of
the intricate prep work Syrian
food requires of women
in their homes. Those women
chop mountains of parsley and
hollow out hillocks of squash,
and deliver the finished goods
to the merchants to sell in that
“Lazy Person’s Market.”
Goldberg envisioned Tanabel
as a space where women
could contribute their skills and
ingenuity to a larger project,
doing what they could to make
a life for themselves while
growing a larger business.
“We pay a living wage and
pride ourselves on meeting our
cooks where they are, finding
ways for them to contribute as
much or as little as they’re able
and to take pride in their work
and in sharing it with their
new neighbors,” she said.
Goldberg, who has been
a chef since 2001, started the
company — which celebrates
the rich culinary traditions of
the Middle East and employs
refugee women — after the
2016 presidential election.
“I felt compelled, as many
people did, to get involved,
to stand up and affirm what
America means to me,” she recalled
of her involvement with
the refugee task force of a local
synagogue in the midst of
an influx of Syrian refugees.
As a chef, Goldberg had been
committed to helping to preserve
traditional foodways at
risk of disappearing, so working
with refugee women to preserve
and celebrate their traditional
������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ ��������������������������
recipes felt like a very
natural fit, she recalls. Tanabel
employs women from
Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan,
and Iran, each
of whom bring
their mothers’ and
grandmothers’
recipes and traditions
with them.
Tanabel’s very
first cook, Fadila
Maamo, hails from
Aleppo, Syria, and
came to the United States
with three of her four children
in the fall of 2016. Maamo and
her family are Yazidi
Kurds, with a
lot of their own
unique traditions,
including
Syrian kibbeh
— fried bulgur
torpedoes
stuffed with
spiced meat and
walnuts, with
a red pepper and
pomegranate sauce and
a little fresh cabbage and mint
salad on the side — which will
be served at the Fare.
“They’re just the best version
we’ve ever had — juicy
and savory and crisp — we’re
so excited to share them
with everyone at the Fare!”
Goldberg said.
“I’m really proud to be a
part of the World’s Fare this
year; Tanabel is about celebrating
the unique contributions
that each of our cooks
brings from her homeland and
sharing them with New Yorkers
who are curious and eager
to understand them, their
food, and their traditions more
completely,” she said.
Joe DiStefano is a Queensbased
food writer.
Try traditional fare from
Tanabel Table at the World’s
Fare at Citi Field (123-01
Roosevelt Ave. in Queens,
https://theworldsfare.nyc) on
May 18 and 19 from 12 to 8 p.m.
Tickets from $19 to $199 (children
under 10, $5).
19
��������������������������theworldSfare.nyc
100+ Global CuIsines
International
Beer Garden
Music, Dance,
Art & More
CITI FIELD
MAY 18 & 19, 2019
/theworldsfare.nyc
/WWW.QNS.COM
/theworldsfare.nyc)
