Meet Mostofa Miah & his father Samsu Mia.
“We (my father and I) own this restaurant – Mia’s Indian Cuisine – it’s a family business, and came from his passion, and also now mine. He has been in Canada more than 20 years – he arrived as a refugee. After much time he was not granted papers, and so in 2003 took sanctuary in the First Unitarian Church for 19 months until he was given special government asylum. It was a hard time, but he is strong. We [his family] were able to join him in 2005 from Bangladesh. After getting his papers the weather was the hardest thing to get used to! We had never seen snow or minus 30!
My Dad has been a chef all his life, and cooked in many countries – England, Germany, Tanzania. He started when he was very young – 15 or 16, cooking for professors and students living in the Students Hall at the university, so all his life he has been cooking.
I am his first son, and I studied at Algonquin in food management, and then worked for more than five years in an Indian restaurant. Then we had a plan – let’s go for our own place. That was three years ago and here we are, and I feel that we are a success story. My dad is the king of samosas. They are very good. He is also a master of naan and tandoor that comes from our region of Bangladesh. The naan recipe is famous – his own secret, very old and unique.” Collected by Kate Settle
Humans of Kitchissippi is a special street photography project designed to introduce readers to some of the people who live, work, and play in Kitchissippi. Each instalment of HOK contains three elements: a photo, a name, and a quote from the subject that reveals a little bit about who they are. View our growing collection of humans right here.