Khaled's Taste of Syria نكهة خالد السورية

My name is Khaled, I am a former Syrian refugee who is crowdfunding to purchase my own street (ECO friendly environment food truck). I aim to cook, sell, and celebrate Syrian food while also providing food and support to people in need or experiencing homelessness. 

I want to raise £30,000 to purchase an Electric food truck fitted with all the facilities needed to start cooking and to cover some of the initial launching costs too. Your contributions will make a significant impact on our family business as well as supporting a crucial social cause and I am excited to get Khaled’s Taste of Syria off the ground!

To show my appreciation for your support, I have a range of rewards on offer. From branded tote bags, to recipe kits for you to make your own tasty treats at home! Get your hands on one of the discount cards when the food truck opens or you can be one of the first to hire the truck for your event! Any donation, big or small will help in making 'Khaled's Taste of Syria' a reality.

I had to leave my country because of the civil war and go to Lebanon. I lived there with my wife Dalal for several years, and we had a very difficult time. In March 2017 we came to England through the Home Office Syrian Resettlement Scheme. We now live in a nice flat in Exeter, Devon, with our two daughters. We have a happy settled life and are gradually improving our English; I am involved in lots of voluntary work and social activities.

I will begin my story in 2011. I was at university doing a course in History. Like any other young man, I dreamed simple dreams and expected that life in my beautiful land of Syria would continue unchanged, with order and security prevailing. But that year the war began. My university became a detention camp and l could no longer attend classes. Bullets and blood were all around me. I had no work, nothing to study. It was dangerous to go outside and I had to hide. I couldn’t see my friends. I became depressed, sleeping during the daytime and waking in the night to secretly meet my friends. Like this, I built up a little community of friends to share the agony and the brief moments of happiness. We became attached to each other. 

During the war, I had to eventually escape to Lebanon with my wife 5 days of our marriage. When we arrived there we were homeless and hungry for many days, and every day felt like a year. I started looking for a simple job and a small place for us to live together. Neighbours came and invited us to rest in their homes. But daily life was hard and the winter was cold. I took every job available - picking olives, doing painting, decorating and electrical work, even working as a barber. Sometimes, my employers only gave me part of my wages. Sometimes they avoided paying me at all. Some kind people originally from Syria but with Lebanese nationality gave us a part of their garage. I managed to convert it into two rooms with a kitchen. We bought a TV and second-hand household items, and the family gave us a few things. Here at last we began to feel some stability and security.

During this period of my life, I learnt that being able to help and support people in difficult circumstances can make a big difference, no matter what that support may be. This has continued to be a guiding principle for me when I moved to the UK. 

Once I moved to the UK, in Exeter I noticed a lot of people who were homeless and also estranged from their families and the wider community. Having experienced homelessness myself, I knew I wanted to help in any way possible. I volunteered in various places around Exeter, serving hot homemade Syrian vegetarian food with other volunteers who also cooked food and did haircuts for those in need and homeless people with various communities around Exeter. In addition to that I help refugees sometimes. The problem of the homeless being neglected, hungry and cold in the streets became more prevalent in 2020, when the Coronavarious Pandemic began. As a result, our initiative of providing free meals to people experiencing homelessness, also became more important. However, it also became harder for me to continue doing this, as it requires money and I still had to sustain and support my own family .

This is how Khaled’s Taste of Syria was born! In an attempt to continue providing cooked meals to those in need or homeless in the communities while also being able to make a living, I decided to start a food business named Khaled’s Taste of Syria. provides delicious Syrian meals which anyone can purchase and enjoy at affordable prices. In addition, for every meal that is bought, a contribution will be made towards the free meals we will provide to those in need on a daily basis. 

Since the start of the pandemic, I have donated free home cooked meals to over 400 people in need or experiencing homelessness through the community groups of volunteers. Also provided food to those who had been effected by the WW2 bomb in Exeter (2021) This initiative soon attracted the attention of Sirin Kale from the Guardian Angel, ITV West Country, IOM UN Immigration, BBC Spotlight, BBC Devon, Radio Cornwall, Devon Live and Exeter Live Magazine. I have also been an author in two books called UnBroken Bonds and Human Crossings which are both available on Amazon (please find the links to all my appearances in the news below).

The Guardian Angel : here

ITV News West Country : here

IOM UN Immigration : here

BBC Devon : here

BBC Radio Cornwall : here

Devon Live 2020: here

West Country Voices: here

Devon Live 2022: here

Khaled’s Taste of Syria is a Registered Limited company ( Company number: 13675608), with an independent bank account and can also be found on social media (please see the links at the end of this to follow our story!).

Follow us on Facebook : here

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Email: [email protected]