Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/171519
the power PIE of Nine women from nine countries make lunch and a community BY DEBBRA MIKAELSEN | PHOTOS JAIME KOWAL Never underestimate the power of an apple pie. That simple dessert became a catalyst for building community last year, inspiring nine women – originally from Germany, Brazil, Venezuela, France, China, Taiwan, Japan, Egypt and Iran – to begin cooking together and teaching each other how to make traditional dishes from their mother countries. They gathered in each other's kitchens. They prepared a list of exotic dishes. And they made several interesting discoveries. "We had much more in common than we would have thought," says Daniela Korinth, an outgoing young woman with long dark hair who recently moved to Kitsilano from an area near Germany's Black Forest. "This surprised us because we were such a mixed group." She met the others in 2011, while participating in a Multicultural Women's Support Program at Kitsilano Neighbourhood House, where newcomers with varying levels of English had gathered to join a community and practise their language skills. When someone brought that apple pie to a meeting, the conversation quickly turned to stories of the foods from their home countries, and they discovered a common interest in cooking. "Even though the foods themselves are different, its importance to us, its social aspect – that's common to everyone," observes Daniela. Fall 2012 I Vancouver Foundation l page 11 p10-13_Pie-Henderson.indd 11 12-10-16 11:14 AM