Faiza Asif and her family moved to Australia in early 2020, just before the country went into lockdown. Since then she has become an important part of the migrant and broader Geelong community, working with many different organisations to help newcomers to Australia find their feet. She spoke to Matt Hewson about the power of food as a way of connecting with people.
When Faiza Asif, her husband Asif Aslam and their two children moved to Australia at the beginning of 2020 they didn’t know anybody.
Wanting to provide more opportunities for their children, Asif successfully applied for a Skilled Work Regional visa to come to Australia as an electrical engineer.
It was a significant change for them; before they left they were living in Pakistan with Asif’s family in a house with more than 30 other family members.
“Because we had been living in a very big family we felt less connection when we moved here,” Faiza said.
“We had so many people around us, but when we moved here my kids felt isolated. We went first to Tasmania for one and a half months and then my husband got a job here in Geelong.”
“Our tradition is to share food – whenever we cook something special we share food with our neighbours, and that’s how this whole story begins.”
As the state was locked down, building friendships in the community was difficult, but Faiza’s children saw a child bouncing on a trampoline in the backyard next door.
Faiza began chatting with her neighbour over the fence and they soon became lockdown buddies. It didn’t take long for Faiza to offer her new friend some of her home cooked food.
“She posted about (my food) on Facebook and so many people saw it and were like, oh, this is so good, she should start a business,” she said.
Though she completed her MBA in Pakistan, cooking has always been a big part of Faiza’s life. Her parents hailed from two different provinces; her father from Sindh, her mother from Punjab, which have two distinct styles of cuisine.
“My mother was an amazing cook, my grandmother was an amazing cook so I think I just inherited it from them,” Faiza said.
“My mother cooked without measuring, and I still have her taste in my brain, in my tongue. Sometimes when I cook similar to her I’m like, oh, this is my mum’s flavour.
“Everyone wanted her to start a business and she really wanted to do that, but she didn’t get that opportunity, or get that platform.
“So when I got that opportunity, when people were asking me to do it, I thought I have to do this. I always have her in my head whenever I’m cooking.”
Initially, she began her business to help others out. As Muslims, Faiza and Asif abide by halal food requirements, and Faiza had seen her husband struggle while working to find food if she didn’t send it with him.
“There were some international students who talked to my husband, they were friends with him,” she said.
“They were not earning much and… at the time there were not many options available for them. So when my husband talked to me about them, I said I don’t want anyone to suffer like you have done, so let’s get them some meals.
“If they want it free, we can give it to them; if they want to give money, $6, $7 for a full box. So it wasn’t about money at all.
“They were also newcomers and migrants… and you miss your home and your family. If you have good food, a healthy meal, you miss your family still, but maybe not as much.”
Faiza also took to going door to door around her neighbourhood, offering food to people in the spirit of sharing.
“Being a Muslim, sharing food is the first thing,” she said.
“When we lived in a neighbourhood, if you got sick or had any issue, neighbours were the first people who came to your house. So sharing food, sharing things with neighbours is compulsory. (It’s about) looking after each other, so I just started doing it.”
In early 2023 Faiza and Asif welcomed their third child, but that didn’t slow Faiza down at all.
In addition to her own flourishing catering and food delivery business Pakistani Cuisine, Faiza is now the chef at The Lounge at the Salvation Army and the Study Geelong program where she provides food for international students.
Last year she began working as a bicultural ambassador for the Migrant Workers Centre, helping migrants learn about their rights in the workforce, and also began contributing to the Regional Advisory Council for the Barwon South Region, offering her insights on the needs and aspirations of the multicultural community in the Geelong area.
She also regularly caters for community events in Geelong, such as the City of Greater Geelong’s leadership program events and AGMs, and organises community events such as the Islamic Society of Geelong’s Eid Gala.
Faiza said her family loved being a part of the Geelong and Australian community.
“Sometimes I say to my husband, I don’t know how I was living before we came to Australia,” she said.
“I spent 29 years in Pakistan and just four years in Australia but, maybe because my kids are growing up, I feel more like this is my home.
“There is a perception (in Pakistan) that Australians are very racist, but I have never faced that. I have always felt very welcomed here.
“My daughter, (I tell her) don’t hide your culture, show your culture and merge into this new environment as well. That’s how you become unique.
“My husband and I are doing our parts differently, he is empowering me and I am supporting him. I am working more here than I ever did in Pakistan and I feel more safe and secure, more empowered and confident in Australia.
“And we are raising our kids in a way that whatever they want to do they can do, but hold your culture, hold your history.”
