For the love of food

As a child, Australian chef 
Greg Malouf admits he had a “massive” appetite and was constantly being shooed out 
of the kitchen, along with 
his siblings, especially during festive 
occasions while “an army of women — grandmothers, aunts — cooked up a feast in the kitchen and we hovered around like seagulls for scraps”.

Originally from Lebanon, the 55-year-old grew up with three generations 
under the same roof, their meals mostly traditional. But Greg says he knew early on, that he wanted to cook — a career path the family tried to talk him out of — and that he wanted to “see the world”. Eventually, he got to do both.

After college and a three-year app-renticeship, the young food connoisseur’s travels took him to France, Italy, Belgium, Austria, even a small kitchen in Hong Kong. “I spent about 10 years working overseas, sharpening my 
skills in Western cuisine and techniques, before returning to Australia. Once I 
got back, I tried to incorporate all my understanding of Western food into 
my childhood memories — and the rest is history.”

‘History’ saw Greg quickly become one of Australia’s most recognised chefs, 
especially in his promotion of modern Middle Eastern cuisine on an international level. A lot of that is his own interpretation of traditional dishes; “not so much fusion as understanding the 
dish itself, adding a few more layers and making it look more architectural”.

His influences seem to be mostly women, he says, almost amused — from his mother to his sister-in-law (“an untrained chef, but incredibly good with Lebanese and Syrian food”) and the London-based historian Claudio Roden — but also, “the old guys”; three-star 
Michelin chefs Michel Guérard, Roger Vergé and Paul Bocuse (“all in their 80s now, but guys I looked up to because they worked hard and pushed the boundaries a bit”). Despite them, it was “absolutely imperative” for Greg to retain his own roots in the kitchen — and Melbourne ate its heart out at his skilful hands.

While there, he was executive chef at MoMo, which was awarded ‘two hats’ by Age Good Food Guide (the equivalent of two Michelin stars), but the famed chef is not into “stars and stripes” and grac-iously attributes the popularity of the cuisine to factors other than his culinary expertise. “Melbourne has probably 
embraced contemporary Middle Eastern food more than any other city globally,” he points out. “People aren’t afraid to 
try new things; cooks aren’t afraid to 
experiment… Plus, we’ve had massive migration as well; lots of different nat-ionalities coming in…”

From there, Greg was snapped up in 2012 to rescue the Petersham Nurseries restaurant in London from its downward spiral (in a few months, he’d not only turned it around but earned it a Michelin star), before being offered the chance 
to open a fine dining establishment in Dubai last year. For anyone charting 
his career, it would seem inevitable that he’d end up here, in the city of signature restaurants and gourmands galore. But Greg says it wasn’t a conscious decision. He came, he saw, he fell in love. And Clé Dubai, with its spin on contemporary Middle Eastern cuisine, is now set to open before the year is out.

It helps that he’s no stranger to the city, having been here since last May. The clientele is not so much a concern for him as sourcing the right produce. “The food is going to have some quirkiness about it,” he assures. “And the traditional 
dishes will remain so, but we’ll need to source great produce to make them shine… Hummus is hummus but a lot of hummus I’ve eaten has been completely numbed with tahini, so much so that it’s almost like tahini [being served] with hummus,” he quips.

Greg assures he’s not the ‘scary type’ at all in the kitchen, compared to his more infamously hot-tempered counterparts. “I’m pretty quiet in the kitchen actually, though it’s a loud kitchen (there are over 40 of us in there). The head chef usually does all the disciplining. I’m there more to troubleshoot, mentor and create. So I hardly say ‘boo’,” he laughs.

With six well-received cookbooks and a seventh on the way — all co-authored with his ex-wife with whom he continues to share a great working relationship (“I cooked for her second wedding; she came to mine”) — one wonders where all these recipes are coming from. “Dreaming!” he says, pronto. “A combination of childhood, travelling and research — but dreaming’s a big part of it.”

His favourite ingredients are yoghurt and Turkish chilli flakes (which he des-cribes as “smoky, sweet, visually beau-tiful, with a beautiful soft heat about it… quite difficult to describe”); expect them to feature in abundance on the menu.

As for his family now, Greg is proud to say that they are quite proud of his 
accomplishments. “At the start, they didn’t understand what was driving me and my interpretation of Lebanese food, but now they insist on such dishes such as salmon kibbeh nayee, which is my take on the classic dish lamb kibbeh nayee.”

Pretty soon, Dubai’s foodies too will be able to have a go. “This is a place where I can put Middle Eastern cuisine on a pedestal,” Greg enthuses. “My life’s work has arrived.” karen@khaleejtimes.com

COMING SOON

Greg’s next book is based on Middle Eastern vegetarian cuisine and is due to be launched in November 2014