Exploring connections between food and culture with Detroit area chefs

There are many religious rituals and traditions practiced around the world where food plays a central role.

Food encourages us to gather with one another and share stories, while particular dishes and cuisines help tell the story of where we came from, who we are and where we hope to go. 

The holy month of Ramadan, which began at sunset on Friday, is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, observed by Muslims around the world through prayer, fasting, reflection and ending with a large, celebratory breaking-of-the-fast, known as Eid al-Fitr. Today is also Fat Tuesday, marking the end of the weeks-long Mardi Gras celebration leading up to Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent in the Christian faith.

Today on The Metro, we were joined by three metro Detroit chefs to discuss the common connections food has with cultural or religious traditions and celebrations.

Guests:

• Nikita Sanches: Detroit-area chef and owner of the Patchwork Culinary Project, a nonprofit education program that offers culinary training to immigrants and refugees. 
• Omar Anani: Chef and owner of the James Beard-nominated Saffron De Twah, an award-winning modern Moroccan bistro on the east side of Detroit.
• Ameneh Marhaba: Founder and owner of Little Liberia, a West African eatery which is about to relocate to Detroit's East English Village neighborhood.  

We also asked listeners:

"What’s your favorite food tradition?"

Use the media player above to listen to the full conversation.

More headlines from The Metro on March 4, 2025:  

• Detroit used to have a thriving transit system that served nearly two million people, with hundreds of buses and over 900 streetcars on 20 streetcar routes — including a streetcar on Michigan Avenue. A new transit campaign from the Metro Detroit Democratic Socialists of America is urging the question: What would it look like to revive that streetcar route? Metro Detroit DSA member Melina Herrera joined The Metro to discuss how the organization is working to move the needle on transit in Detroit.
• Juli McLoone is a curator in the Special Collections Research Center at the University of Michigan. One of her focus areas is the evolution of cuisine in various regions and cultures, and she helped preserve and digitize the only known copy of the earliest cookbook authored by a Black woman, “A Domestic Cook Book: For the Kitchen” by Mrs. Malinda Russel — published in Michigan in 1866.
• We also revisited two recent conversations on The Metro with Bharat Ramamurti, senior advisor for economic strategy at the American Economic Liberties Project, and Canadian Economist Jim Stanford about Trump’s tariffs, both paused and in effect.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

"The Metro" covers local and regional news and current affairs, arts and cultural events and topics, with a commitment to airing perspectives and uncovering stories underreported by mainstream media in Detroit.