A Syrian Baker Finds the Sweet Life in Li’l Rhody

Youssef Akhtarini Starts Anew with Aleppo Sweets

Like other refugees seeking shelter in the United States, Youssef Akhtarini was seeking a better and safer life for himself and his family when he left his native Syria to resettle, eventually, in Providence, Rhode Island.

Youssef, who earned his baking chops while working at a famous Syrian bakery, Diab, in Aleppo, has introduced his handmade Syrian baklava to satisfied customers throughout Rhode Island and beyond, through his aptly named company, Aleppo Sweets.

Although life had not been sweet for him in his last years in Syria, Youssef finds joy in the smallest encounters, including observing his customers savor his delectable handmade baklava.

Just as all good chefs keep their favorite knives and kitchen tools close at hand, Youssef arrived in Providence in October 2016 with his essential baking utensils and a strong desire to continue his chosen career as a baker. Initially, he rented commercial cooking space from 5-Herb Pizza in Cranston to prepare and bake his baklava, which he sells through his website, AleppoSweets.com, and at two local farmers markets: the Pawtucket Winter Farmers Market and the Hope Street Farmers Market.

Upon his arrival, Youssef quickly connected with thoughtful Rhode Islanders, including Sandy Martin. The two met on Sandy’s first day of training to conduct cultural orientations for Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island’s incoming refugee clients.

“The Syrian refugee crisis motivated me,” said Sandy, who had volunteered with a Ugandan-based nonprofit organization for several years, and is a member of the Sanctuary North Church in Providence. “It’s a faith thing for me; it’s more sacrificial” than, for example, donating clothes you planned to throw away anyway, she said.

Motivated by her Christian values and recognizing that Youssef might face insurmountable financial and bureaucratic challenges to find and lease appropriate property, Sandy and her husband, Victor Pereira, searched for an investment property that could provide them with rental income and Youssef with space for a storefront bakery. They eventually found a building, which is currently being renovated and repurposed for a bakery, on Ives Street in Providence. Located between two beloved East Side culinary institutions, PVDonuts and Tallulah’s Taqueria, the bakery should open this fall (assuming the renovation is completed near to or on time). And a GoFundMe page has been established to help defray renovation costs for the much-anticipated bakery.

Life in Aleppo, Syria, was good, in earlier years, said Youssef, through his Syrian friend, Abdullah Kanaan, who translated. After his time at the bakery Diab, later he and his brothers opened two bakeries in Aleppo, where they employed 15 workers to make and sell baklava, other sweet treats and savory meat pies. “Life wasn’t stressful before the war; I had a very happy middle-class life, and my kids were in school,” said Youssef, who spoke cautiously about Syria, where some family members still reside.

Over time, it became difficult to secure even the most basic needs, such as food, medicine, electricity and water. Bombs and snipers endangered the lives of anyone who simply wished to travel from street to street, neighborhood to neighborhood, he said.

After fleeing Syria for Turkey, he was eventually able to bring his family—his wife, Reem, and five children—to Istanbul and later to Ankara. (Youssef and Reem are parents of six children, five girls and one boy, whose ages range from 13 to 2; their youngest child was born in Turkey.) In Turkey, Youssef found work as a prep cook, and some of his former employees also found employment. After many interviews with the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the U.N. entity determining the fate of most refugees, Youssef and his family learned that they would be resettled in Rhode Island, a venue wholly unfamiliar to the Akhtarini family.

“Early on, many people here encouraged me and offered to help,” said Youssef, whose bakeries were destroyed after he fled to Turkey. Many of his first supporters were people he met while taking an English-speaking class at Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island, which helps acclimate immigrants and refugees to life in the Ocean State. Although he continues to take English classes at the Genesis Center, which offers adult education and workforce development assistance, Youssef called learning English his biggest challenge.

“It’s not easy to adapt to a new life here. It’s a new culture and a totally different community. Everything is different, even the schools, from the way it was in my country.”

Baklava is to Syria as apple or cherry pie is to the United States; it’s a popular dessert that Syrians in Aleppo consider an everyday sweet treat. Aleppo Sweets’ sumptuous baklava contains just the right combination of sweet syrup and nuts to robe the tender crunchy layers of phyllo dough. It’s a contrast to Greek baklava, which tastes more sweet and syrupy.

The pistachio and walnut versions of his artisan phyllo dough pastries are the two most popular versions, with the almond version a close third, said Youssef. They come in different shapes and sizes; some are cigar-shaped, others are diamond-shaped and still others look something like little purses, though all are delicious. Asked whether his differently shaped baklava taste different, Youssef said, with a smile, the shape is 90% of the difference, whereas flavor is only 10% of the difference.

Youssef prepares and bakes trays upon trays of baklava but when he gets slammed with extra orders, he’ll enlist Reem, the family’s primary cook, to help. While he’s tried to hew closely to the baklava recipes he followed in Aleppo, Youssef said, “I find it difficult to secure certain ingredients … I have to order some ingredients from New Jersey and Michigan.”

Insisting that Youssef is too modest, Abdullah said, “Most Syrian baklava sold here comes from Michigan or even Canada but Youssef ’s baklava is fresh. The more fresh the baklava is, the more delicious it is.”

On June 20, World Refugee Day, some three dozen adults attended an open house at the home of Sandy and Victor to watch Youssef make his baklava, sample some sweets and celebrate the news that the couple had closed on the building at 107 Ives Street.

Youssef expressed appreciation for America, though he finds Rhode Island’s winters too cold and its summers too hot! “Every second in Syria … even when you leave home to buy bread, you might be killed for any reason whatsoever,” he said soberly. “America is better than Syria; it’s a safe place.”

Some 13 million Syrians have been displaced from their homes during the lengthy war. While time will tell if Syrian culture and recipes thrive or wither in the new environments in which Syrians find themselves, Youssef firmly believes in his future in Rhode Island. “There are a lot of opportunities for anybody who works hard to achieve this dream.” Deeply grateful to Sandy and Victor for their generosity and support, Youssef said, “Aleppo Sweets is not just a business … Rhode Island needs a fresh sweets store.”

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