Ahead of our collaboration with Tom, we discovered the story behind his most famous recipe that was crowned a 'must-eat dish' of Melbourne, where to find the best felafel in the city, and what he cooks for the people he loves.
Tell us about your Food For Everyone recipe, 'Hummus with Spanner Crab and King Prawn.
In the lead up to opening Bar Saracen in 2018, I traveled to Lebanon and became obsessed with hummus. Hummus was something I grew up eating lots of, especially when my grandfather, Zareh, would make it fresh. But the hummus I was eating in Lebanon was something else. It was texturally phenomenal and the flavours were so beautifully balanced. It was also the first time seeing plates of hummus topped with lamb cooked with spices and nuts fried in butter. This was next level hummus and I was inspired. Then I ate hummus bi awarma. Awarma is lamb slowly cooked in lamb fat until it melts in your mouth. Now I was on a mission. I decided I’d work on making my hummus as smooth, creamy and delicious as possible using the best quality ingredients and a brand new, strong blender. It took me years to perfect, and I would change the toppings seasonally from lamb to pumpkin to calamari, all with the same flavours and characteristics of the authentic hummus bi awarma. But one summer I created the sauce with the most amazing king prawns and spanner crab, a combination inspired by my apprenticeship at the Stokehouse in St. Kilda, and it was the one. It became my most popular dish. I really love everything about it, and I still love cooking it all these years later, not just in restaurants but for special occasions celebrating with family too, it’s often my Christmas lunch go-to dish.
You describe mealtimes as a "sacred ceremony". Can you share some of your favourite rituals around food and dining?
My favourite food memories are at my grandparents home in Mulgrave. In an old school classic style they would dress and set the dining table so beautifully, just like at an old fashioned French restaurant. It always felt very special eating there. Birthdays and Easter and Christmas time were always really special meals. The whole family gathered around this beautiful table covered with so many incredible mezze dishes, grandpa bring out more warm dishes until we couldn’t possibly eat anything more, then the main course would come out and we’d all freak out!
What does your 'day on a plate' look like?
I start the day with a strong black coffee, either an Arabic coffee at home or a double espresso on the go.
I like sugar in the morning to get me going, but I try to keep it healthy with a bowl of fresh fruit with yoghurt, nuts, cinnamon and honey.
Sandwiches for lunch if I’m busy, and if I’m at the hummus HQ in Coburg, my favourite lunch is a felafel sandwich from Half Moon Cafe. For me, it’s the best felafel in Melbourne.
I’m enjoying cooking soups at the moment with veggies from farmers market and chicken broth loaded with ginger and turmeric, cumin and fennel seeds. We usuals have a loaf of our favourite seeded sourdough from All Are Welcome, it’s so good toasted with labne spread over it to go with soups!
For desserts, we were in Oaxaca recently and brought back a lot of amazing cooking chocolates, and a special tool for making Mexican hot chocolate. With a touch of really good cinnamon it’s the best on cold nights.
What do you like to cook for the people you love?
I love barbecuing. It’s my happy place. And when I’m most happy cooking is when I’m feeding my family. Combine those things and there’s nothing better. Grilling fish and seafood and serving with beautiful salads and sauces, rice cooked with saffron and butter.
What sort of food did you eat growing up?
With mum a gardener and dad a chef, I was lucky to grow up with an emphasis on eating beautiful home cooked meals, with fresh veggies and herbs from the garden that mum grew. I would really look forward to eating at my grandparents house, as they’d cook a feast of Armenian and Arabic food. Grandma’s vine leave dolma was always a favourite, and mum’s spinach and feta pie.
Can you share a kitchen disaster or recipe gone wrong?
I used to cook at a restaurant in London that was famous for its chocolate and apricot tart. Once tasked with making them each morning fresh for lunch service, I was cooking them every morning for a little while. One morning in a mad rush I accidentally made the chocolate filling with salt instead of sugar. It was a substantial amount in the recipe so it was super salty. Not knowing yet I assembled the tart and baked as per usual. It came out looking really different and not normal. I freaked out and had a taste, it tasted like the ocean. I was so ashamed and had to let the team know there was no tart on the menu for lunch. Biggest lesson learned was no matter how many times you make something always taste it! And label everything!
THE POSTER
Hummus with Spanner Crab and King Prawn
By Tom Sarafian and Gemma Leslie
