Canadian Star

Mohamad Fakih is the CEO of Paramount Fine Foods, the fastest growing Middle Eastern Food chain in Canada. In 2016, when the first wave of Syrian refugees came to Canada, Mohamad committed to putting them to work in all of his 36 locations. So far there are over 80 Syrian refugees working in his restaurants. “When I came here as an immigrant,” he says, “I really was helped by a lot of Canadians. And if you one day — as I did — became successful, this is the time you want to give back.” After a shooting at the Islamic Cultural Centre in Quebec City, Mohamad offered to cover the funeral costs for the victims’ families. Paramount Fine Foods later raised over $100,000 for their families, and to help rebuild the mosque. "We help the Canadian community,” he explains. “We hire all Canadians regardless of where they come from and that is what we’re proud of.”