The Leap Year
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#20 Hana Assafiri on nourishment
Hana Assafiri is the owner of the Moroccan Soup Bar, a Melbourne dining and community institution, employing vulnerable women workers. In this episode, she talks with Sally about the creative ways she and her colleagues connected, supported and nourished each other during lockdown – and how the pandemic has shifted her understanding of community and hospitality.
Who?
Sally Warhaft
Sally Warhaft is a Melbourne broadcaster, anthropologist and writer. She is the host of The Fifth Estate, the Wheeler Centre’s live series focusing on journalism, politics, media, and international relations, and The Leap Year, a Wheeler Centre podcast about Australians' lives in the fog of the Covid-19 pandemic. She is a former editor of the Monthly magazine and the author of the bestselling book Well May We Say: The Speeches that Made Australia.
Sally is a regular host and commentator on ABC radio and has a PhD in anthropology. She did her fieldwork in Mumbai, India, living by the seashore with the local fishing community.
Hana Assafiri
Hana Assafiri has dedicated her professional and private life to removing barriers that prevent women from living prosperous lives. By opening her first restaurant in 1998, the popular Moroccan Soup Bar in North Fitzroy–now an institution for many Victorians, Hana has provided employment opportunities for marginalised members of the community. In 2015, she was awarded TimeOut’s Legend Award for her flair for innovation and entrepreneurship. Internationally renowned artist Ai Weiwei also chose to include Hana in his famous collection of portraits of local social activists.
The Leap Year
The Leap Year is a podcast about the stretching, shrinking days of 2020, and the impact COVID-19 has had on Australians’ lives, presented by Sally Warhaft.