Winnipeg business owners cater to community at city's first halal food festival

Members of the Muslim community in Winnipeg say halal food options in the city have been expanding in recent years, as many gathered at the city's first halal food festival on Saturday. 

Event organizer Sadna Isik said the Halal Food Fest and Business Expo, held at the St. Norbert Community Centre and Arena on Saturday afternoon, was the first of its kind in Winnipeg. 

She told Weekend Morning Show host Nadia Kidwai that more than 50 businesses, both new and established, were registered to attend the event. 

"We are bringing all the food, and non-food and non-profit organizations together and empower them," Isik said on Saturday. 

She said it was hard to find halal food — halal refers to the way meat is slaughtered and prepared according to Muslim religious guidelines — in Winnipeg when she first moved to the city as a graduate student in 2014. 

"We have a growing halal food community," Isik said. 

But still, she noted that 12 vendors had to be removed from participating in the event, due to lack of access to halal-compatible licensed kitchens, or any kitchen at all. 

Those vendors were from Turkish, Afghan, Nigerian and Algerian communities, she said, highlighting the need for more support and opportunities from the province for small halal businesses.

Ameen Ul Haque, who moved from Karachi, Pakistan, to Winnipeg three years ago, said he wanted to fill a gap in the local market for halal-friendly barbecue dishes. 

He has been running the Kolachi Kitchen, which serves halal cheeseburgers alongside classic Pakistani dishes like chicken biryani, for just over a year. 

"The idea came in my mind, let's start with the Kolachi Kitchen and serve the community with the halal food," Ul Haque said. 

"Everybody is looking for the halal food."

He said he's proud to serve Karachi-style chicken biryani in Winnipeg, when no one else appears to be selling halal barbecue items on their menus.

"Everybody loves it. They are really happy and that's the reason we are here," he said, adding events like the food festival can help community members learn more about what halal options are available in the city. 

Adbur Rahim, who owns Bubble Wave tea in the Charleswood neighborhood, said his business offers the only halal-friendly bubble tea in town. 

Rahim said bubble tea drinks typically use gelatin, which is often made from collagen in the skin and bones of pigs or other animals. Pig gelatin is one of the most common types of gelatin and pork products are not halal.  

"Canada is a multicultural country, so to serve different communities, it's good to have different options," he said, adding that his company's bubble tea is also suitable for vegans and vegetarians. 

He said there were very few restaurants that offered halal options when he first moved to Canada from Bangladesh in 2014. Now places like Boston Pizza, Mary Brown's Chicken and Kentucky Fried Chicken all serve halal food. 

"Everyday it is increasing," Rahim said. 

Ruchie Rai was at the St. Norbert Community Centre to support her mother-in-law's business and check out the food vendors alongside husband Zaid Usman. 

She said there was "barely any halal food" when she moved to Winnipeg as an international student in 2012. 

"In the beginning, there weren't a lot of options. But it's growing, which is amazing. There's opportunities now for us to eat outside more," Rai said. 

"The more options we have the better," Usman said.