Her Story
Jessy is from Syria and lived most of her life in Alep. She trained as an architect and worked for nearly 8 years as such. Due to the war, she had to flee her home town in 2013 with her husband and 3 children. Jessy and her family were among the lucky ones, and arrived safe and sound in Europe. They have been living in Geneva for 6 years.
Background
Jessy’s architect diploma was not recognized in Switzerland, and she was therefore unable to pursue her occupation. She thus turned to cooking, a real passion she inherited from her family. Indeed, her mother’s family specialized in gastronomy, and owned several restaurants. Jessy has always loved cooking. She noticed that the Syrian cuisine was still largely unknown in Geneva, and seized the opportuniy to set up a Syrian catering project in Switzerland.
«In my country, I could see no future, it was very depressing. But I am able to do so here, and I know that things will get better.»
Her project
Jessy’s project is called «Pistache et Rose» and consists in setting up an association that employs other Syrian women to facilitate their integration, and provide them with a source of income. Her objective is to bring forward the genuine, refined and tasty cuisine of Alep since she found out that Syrian food available on the Swiss market is not of good quality. Since she is aware of climate issues, Jessy implements the «zero plastic» concept, and buys local products to cook her dishes.
«The Alter Start coaches believed in me and my Syrian cuisine project; they gave me the strength to move forward and set up my association.»
