Pier 21 brings new cultural fusions to Halifax

Ghada Shuli shared a taste of her home at last week’s Pier 21 event, Talk and Taste: Perfect Pairings. 

On Thursday evening, five pairs of culturally diverse chefs joined together to showcase their unique fusion dishes in a public sampling event. 

Shuli is the owner of Sanabel Chef Mama G, where she infuses her Palestinian heritage into bakery classics. She teamed up with Keisha Carter, the owner of food truck and catering service Comfort, to combine Middle Eastern staples with Carter’s African Nova Scotian flavours for the event.

While Carter was unable to attend the event, Shuli served enthusiastic guests the pairing’s lobster dip with ka’ak al-quds, a traditional Palestinian sourdough with sesame.

“She’s African Nova Scotian and I’m from Palestine,” said Shuli about their dish. “We tried to have two elements, two things together so we can make it as a simple dish. Plus, it’s going to be tasty.”

The event was a signoff for the larger exhibit held by the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 called Eat Make Share: A Taste of Immigration which ran from May 10, 2025 to Jan. 18. 

The exhibition talked about food’s connection to immigration and the experiences immigrants have gone through in bringing their cultural cuisine to Nova Scotia. The event was spearheaded by the museum’s public programs and community engagement co-ordinator, Tatsunari Watanabe. He says food is an enduring factor of cultural identity.

“I think it’s a very important touchstone in sort of maintaining one’s connection to a culture of origin,” said Watanabe. “Even if you’re many, many generations removed from that origin, that experience of food makes you unique. I think the maintenance of that is incredibly important.”

Dalhousie anthropology professor Liz Fitting has researched the culture and political economy of food for 25 years. She says events like Talk and Taste are crucial in our current social climate.

“If you try a new food or new cuisine, it has the potential to deepen understanding cross-culturally,” says Fitting. “It always is important, but right now in this moment in time and place, I think it’s really important. The more things that we can connect through and see our common humanity. Food is a great thing to do that.”

Talk and Taste: Perfect Pairings offered guests a chance to speak with each pairing of chefs and learn about their cultural backgrounds. Shuli said she is thankful for the opportunity to bring her Palestinian culture to Haligonian palates.

“It’s really a pleasure for me to have it,” says Shuli. “To let other people know about traditions, about the olives, about the olive oil, the za’atar, the sumac, these kinds of things. To bring them to Halifax for other people to eat and share.”

Although the exhibit has come to an end, people can still try these dishes for themselves. The recipe for Shuli and Carter’s Afro-Palestinian lobster dip with ka’ak al-quds can be found on the Canadian Museum of Immigration’s website.