MINNEAPOLIS — At the Field and Festival Holiday Market in Minneapolis, flavors from around the world are on display. This holiday season, Palma Delights founder and owner Alyaa Sonbol is bringing a taste of the Middle East to Minnesota.
"All of these [desserts] are based off of my background, which I'm very proud of because it brought me to thinking of this and coming up with this idea," Sonbol said. The full-time architect and mother of two moved to the United States from Egypt at 11 years old.
Sonbol's vendor stall is filled with a variety of vegan and gluten-free chocolate-covered desserts, which she creates in her home kitchen using various ingredients such as dates, figs and various nuts.
Working around the clock to bring her business to life, Sonbol officially created Palma Delights six months ago. "When it got to my own health, I had to figure something out for myself."
Sonbol navigates life with an autoimmune disorder. "It is very challenging, to be honest," she said. "I myself don't even know what to eat sometimes."
Knowing others suffer from the same challenges, Sonbol set out on a mission to make sweets that are safe to consume for people with auto-immune diseases. "We like to have our sweet tooth like everybody else," she chuckled.
Palma Delights was one of 40 vendors featured at Sunday's market.
"For me, the most rewarding part is just to see that journey for those people, knowing that we're providing real economic impact for not just the artists, but the whole community," said Minneapolis Craft Market founder Hayley Matthews-Jones.
Originally from London, Matthews-Jones moved to Minnesota in 2008 and founded Minneapolis Craft Market in 2015.
"I was here for a few years and kind of looking for that weekly artist market type of outlet that is so common in London and most of Europe," she explained. "I kind of spent a while waiting for someone else to build that, and when no one did, I figured, 'I know what this should look like.'"
Nearly a decade later, Minneapolis Craft Market now hosts various markets around the Twin Cities. From soaps to jewelry, hats, crafts and beyond, these markets are ensuring the holiday spirit is alive in Minneapolis. "I love it," Sonbol said. "Serving people is always a good thing for me."