Resident shares Persian culture, cuisine via Wednesday supper clubs
by Ava Tallat-Kelpsa
Persian culture has come to life in Hudson through The Persian Journey, a supper club created by Shima Rashidi-Nijhuis. The Hudson resident has combined her love for cooking and her heritage to create an engaging experience for her guests.
Rashidi-Nijhuis said she discovered the concept of supper clubs on social media. When she couldn’t find anything similar in Ohio, she built her own community table from scratch.
“I liked the concept that they do homestyle cooking, invite people to their home and gather people,” Rashidi-Nijhuis said. “They talk. They laugh. They share things together, and they don’t always know each other.”
Earlier this year, she began planning supper club menus and learning how to make meals that had significance to her. Her food selections are inspired by her home country of Iran, where she lived until she was 16.
“I want to give another picture of my country, that we are more than what you see on the news,” she explained. “We are passionate people, we love to gather together and the door is always open for people … to be at the table with us.”
Rashidi-Nijhuis hosts the supper club each Wednesday and begins preparations the Sunday before by dreaming up a menu. To keep her ingredients fresh, she always buys items less than two days before the meal.
“My mom always cooked fresh food for us, never used a jar or a can, and it was always from scratch,” Rashidi-Nijhuis said. “I try as much as possible to find organic ingredients, and I want it to be as fresh as possible.”
The supper club menus include a welcome drink, an appetizer, a starter, a main dish and dessert, and it ends with Persian tea. Tuesdays are spent preparing the meal as much as she can in advance.
“I normally wake up early and start to prepare around 7 in the morning. Then I work until 7 or 8 o’clock in the evening, because I want the quality. I have everything cleaned and washed with my hands, and I cover my hair. Quality costs time and I don’t mind doing that,” she said
Rashidi-Nijhuis makes an effort to interact with guests and join the meal as more than just the cook. She explains to her guests what ingredients are used, how the food was made, and her memories behind each menu item as it is served.
Her supper clubs have been successful, drawing eight to 12 guests each night. Despite providing conversation cards at the table as icebreakers, she has found that conversations between strangers flow naturally to create a joyful environment.
“I hope they leave with a full heart as well as a full stomach,” she said. “I hope they make new connections, learn something about another culture and realize we have more in common than we often think. … Food brings people to the table, but connection keeps them there.”
Global journey
Rashidi-Nijhuis has rooted herself in the Hudson community since 2011, founding a local women’s hiking group and participating in the International Women’s Club alongside her supper club duties. That deep appreciation for local connection stems from a global journey. Before moving to the United States, she lived in Iran and later found refuge in Sweden and the Netherlands.
“After living in four different countries and experiencing both hardship and privilege, war and peace, I’ve learned that human connection is the most powerful thing we have,” she said.
In future supper clubs, Rashidi-Nijhuis hopes to incorporate cuisine from various parts of the world.
“I stay a lot in touch with my culture, and I call what I make fusion Persian food. That way I can bring something from my other culture, mainly Persian, but I’m always willing to collaborate with other [cultures]. And that way, I don’t have any boundaries with the food,” she said.
For more information or to join any of The Persian Journey events, email thepersianjourney@gmail.com.
Photo caption: Shima Rashidi-Nijhuis