Northallerton Syrian pop-up restaurant for earthquake appeal

The Rotary Club of Northallerton Mowbray teamed up with the town’s Syrian families to stage the event.

Almost 90 guests enjoyed a Syrian feast prepared by professional chef We-sum Abo Swid and his team of Syrian cooks.

The town hall venue was provided free of charge by Northallerton Town Council. Deputy Mayor Cllr Paul Cornfoot was among the guests.

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Lead event organiser Malcolm Warne of the Rotary Club of Northallerton Mowbray said: “This was a novel idea in Northallerton and we were delighted with the enthusiasm shown by our guests. We could have sold many more tickets for the event than the capacity of the town hall.”

He said that while the earthquake earlier this year – which killed more than 55,000 people and made millions homeless – no longer featured in television news coverage, the work of reconstructing lives and communities continued and would take many years to complete.

“The club and the Syrian families are very grateful for the generosity of our restaurant guests who recognised the continuing impact of the quake and the need to support the 15m in the two countries directly affected by it.”

Head chef Wesum Abo Swid is a member of the small Syrian community that settled in Northallerton over the last five years under the UK Government’s official resettlement programme offering safety to those fleeing the crisis caused by the Syrian Civil War.

Professionally-trained and with experience of working in hotels around the world, he aims to one day establish his own Syrian restaurant in Northallerton.