"At the market, people come only for these rolls," says Sasi Niyamathullah, the coordinator of an Auckland initiative that sees refugee women cooking and catering a range of cuisines at markets and events.
On Nine to Noon, Ms Niyamathullah shares the secrets of the group's Sri Lankan rolls, a traditional and popular food in the country, which can be eaten with any sauce that's good for dipping, including tomato chutney or peanut sauce.
Sir Lankan rolls - Wise Collective Catering Service Photo: Supplied
The Wise Collective Catering Service is an Auckland programme run by refugee women, which dishes up food from around the world. It's part of a joint initiative between the Auckland Regional Migrant Services Charitable Trust and the Auckland Resettled Community Coalition.
The project has been running for five years, supporting refugee women to use their skills, get to know others, grow in confidence and generate income for their families.
The WISE women run regular ethnic food stalls at markets and events across Auckland and also operate a catering service for events and meetings, bringing the food of their homelands to New Zealand.
Ms Niyamathullah, the WISE programme coordinator and a former refugee, teaches the group food safety and food control plans, as well as helping the women share their stories through the food.
While she said most participants were experienced cooks, they had extensive training to comply with food service and safety rules, and 22 women were now certified caterers.
The training, along with requirements for record-keeping around food service, had proved a challenge for those women who did not speak yet speak strong English, but had also provided an opportunity for them to learn.
Ms Niyamathullah had initially been a WISE participant herself, and then started volunteering before becoming an employee. She said there were now 18 countries and 35 different ethnic groups represented in the group, from countries across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East in particular.
She said stalls at night markets around Auckland had built up the women's business, and attracted customers for the catering side of the venture after punters tasted the market fare.
"From next week onwards, every day [til Christmas] we are booked for the catering," Ms Niyamathullah says.
Potential customers email their interest and are sent a menu covering 11 different ethnic cuisines, with ingredient lists provided for their choices.
"All of the feedback will be the same: it's so delicious and mouth-watering," she says.
Rochana Sheward, the CEO of Auckland Regional Migrant Services, said the women delivered the catered food themselves, which gave "an authenticity to the food."
"It gives [the caterer] the opportunity to meet the person who's put the order in, and they can hear a bit about the woman and her life as well."
Ms Sheward said the WISE programme allowed women to feel confident and connected, and the market stalls helped improve their English by making small talk with customers and explaining what was in the food.
"It's the whole family as well because the children and the men help support the stalls at the markets. It really is the feeling of being included and not feeling alone and sad," she said.
That had been true for Sasi Niyamathullah.
"When I came here, I feel so isolated. We miss everything about our country," she says.
Participating had "reduced our isolation and reduced our stress".
