ORIGIN STORY

“ULTIMATELY, MY GOAL IS TO USE FOOD AS A GATEWAY INTO CULTURE – TO BUILD LONGER TABLES, and shorter fences; to start conversation.” It’s this approach that makes Hawa Hassan, who was displaced from her homeland at a very young age, such an inspiration to me. I first came across her on Instagram, where I have watched her place Somalian food in the spotlight through engaging and educational videos, social media posts, and writing in a refreshing, relevant way that never sacrifices her sense of place.

Born in Mogadishu, Hawa fled to Kenya with her family during the civil war, where they lived for three years, one of which was spent in a refugee camp. When the opportunity arose for Hawa, then aged seven, to travel to Seattle with a group of refugees, her mother decided to send her eldest daughter to the United States ahead of the rest of the family. But visa issues meant it would be 15 years before the family would finally reunite, and Hawa had to adapt to life in a foreign country on her own.

But adapt she did – seizing every opportunity that came her way. After completing high school, Hawa started working as a model and moved to New York. She also bought a plane ticket to visit Norway, where her family had finally settled. Once reunited with her mother, who had opened two shops in Oslo, they began to cook together once more, and Hawa reconnected with her Somali food heritage.

In 2015, Hawa founded Basbaas Foods (), a range of condiments and sauces based on her childhood food memories. (which means “chilli pepper” in Somali) products