Who is Greg Malouf?
A Michelin starred chef and prolific cookbook co-author who modernized and popularized Lebanese cuisine in Australia and across the world.
Greg Malouf was a Michelin-starred Australian chef of Lebanese descent, as well as an author and culinary consultant.
He was acknowledged as the pioneer of modern Middle Eastern cuisine in Australia and for the influence that his work has had on other chefs and restaurateurs and on Middle Eastern cuisine, globally.
Greg was the author of eight highly acclaimed food-travel books, all of which have earned awards, including the prestigious James Beard and IACP awards (for Suqar in 2019 and Turquoise in 2008).
In 2012 Greg relocated to Dubai, from where he consulted with restaurants around the world. He was respected as one of the foremost authorities on Middle Eastern cuisine and had a significant impact on the way people think about and approach this cuisine. In 2006 he was honored as ‘Ambassador’ by the American University in Beirut for his achievements promoting Lebanese cuisine around the world.
Greg’s early cooking career took him to Europe and then Hong Kong, where his skills were honed and his talent with Middle Eastern spices and techniques was established. In 1991 Greg returned to Australia to take over as head chef at O’Connell’s Restaurant in Melbourne, and it became the first Middle Eastern restaurant to be awarded a ‘Chef’s Hat’ in The Age Good Food Guide (The Antipodean Michelin equivalent). It was from here that his reputation for innovative Middle Eastern food was cemented, and that he ignited a passion for modern Middle Eastern food on the Australian restaurant scene.
Although Greg is no longer with us, his invaluable legacy lives on in his extensive bibliography and in his Lebanese Mezze course that we have been fortunate enough to co-create with him.
