Jun 11, 2018
It's not surprising that Sharon Salloum would pursue a career in food – her dad has a thing for DIY cooking devices and even pioneered a shopping trolley/fridge shelf/lawnmower barbecue. Her mother and grandmother taught her the power of food around the family table, and their recipes inspired her Almond Bar cookbook – which landed her two international Gourmand Cookbook awards. Just hearing Sharon talk about Syrian dishes is the very opposite of a hunger suppressant; it will make you want to order her food immediately.
But Sharon actually decided to work in healthcare before teaming
up with her sister Carol to open Almond Bar in Darlinghurst and
their newish cafe 3 Tomatoes in Ashbury. Her ingredients are
grounded in local postcodes – vine leaves cut from her parents'
yard, fresh za'atar from an uncle's home, or visits to a Western
Sydney grocer who sells home-made shanklish from neighbours or
excess produce from their suburban gardens.
And given that Sharon has has strong memories of riding donkeys in
her father's Syrian homeland (and eating some extraordinary
breakfasts in the country), it's obvious why she has gone out of
her way to find hospitality work and opportunities for refugees
from the region. She's also taking part in the big Cook For Syria
fundraising dinner happening on June 18 at Three Blue Ducks in
Rosebery, in aid of UNICEF Australia’s Syria Crisis Appeal for
Children, and you can find her sfouf recipe in the upcoming Bake
For Syria cookbook. To more about Cook For Syria and how you can
participate, visit cookforsyria.com.