this is a very special three-part video series where we take you behind the scenes
of three home chefs three women who arrived in New Zealand as refugees
and who've created these thriving businesses from their home kitchens
all three of the chefs that we're showcasing are graduates of a programme put together by
Iti Rearea which are a collective of not-for-profits who help the women with business mentoring and
micro-finance and to get these businesses off the ground
Mi Casa Su Casa translates to my house is your house
and Gleides embodies the name of her business she is so welcoming a lot of her customers say the
same thing one taste of her food and they feel like they've come home
and I felt that when I walked into her house because check out her entranceway
you're just surrounded and greeted by this colourful display of Colombian flags and Colombian food
Colombian culture it's incredible
Gleides has been cooking since she was 11. She would help her Mum cook and then they would sell that food
to support the family this empanada recipe is probably an old old recipe of your Mum's?
Isn't it? Yes
and it's a way her cooking is a way to honour her mother a way to express her identity
crisis
Mi Casa Su Casa is all about Colombian food so it's an expression of Gelides's culture and
it's grown organically this small business Gleides arrived in New Zealand 12 years ago
she started taking food to other refugee new arrivals from Colombia giving them a taste of home
and then it's grown into this Whatsapp group of hundreds of people who just adore her food
the empanadas have emerged from the deep fryer
golden brown Gleides has made some guacamole and some ahi to go with it this is
the most famous one of the most famous Colombian traditional foods eaten all the time
Gleides, muy rico
Buen provecho
Gracias
the outer dough is so crispy and crunchy yeah
and the inside is so tender and flavoursome
oh man this basket is all mine
what comes out of these home kitchens is absolutely staggering
so we're filming three videos in this series we have filmed three and in every kitchen
these women are cooking for often hundreds of people
out of the tiny spaces that they have in their homes it just blows my mind
this has been such an incredible morning and it's been such a privilege to be able to share
Gleide's story with you
she's an incredible person and she makes amazing food
muchas gracias Gleides thank you so much thank you much for welcoming us into your home
you have got to eat Gleides's food head to Mi Casa Es Su Casa's Facebook page order some of her empanadas
they are drop dead delicious um thank you for watching we really hope you enjoyed this one