O
peninga restaurantwasnevera partof
SabaAlemayoh’splan,butforhermother,
TekebashGebre,it wasthedream.What
broughttheirpathstogether– andbrought
a smartEthiopianrestaurantintobeing– was
a suddencrazeinMelbournefortheEthiopiangrainteff.
Alemayohhadbeenlookingforwaystomakeuseofher
entrepreneurialskillsfollowinga stintas anofficerintheArmy
Reserve,whilesimultaneouslystudyingbusinessandartsat
MonashUniversity.She’dbeenworkingas anemployee-wellbeing
consultantwhenshestartedtonoticea lotoftalkaboutthis
“new”ancientgrainsuperfood,teff(thegluten-freebaseingredient
forinjerabread),andthedifficultypeoplewerehavingsourcingit.
“SoI startedimportingteffintoAustraliafromEthiopia
andsellingit tohealth-foodstores,”shesays.“ButthenI realised
notmanypeopleknewhowtouseit properlyandsoI sawthat,
togrowthebusiness,I’dhavetostarteducatingpeopleonhow
tocookwithit.Westarteddoingmarketsandthenpickedup
somecateringjobsandthenmorecateringjobsandthenone
dayI thought:oh,a restaurantis whereweneedtobe.”
Alemayoh’smotheris a greatcookandhadalwayswanted
her own restaurant, but had hesitated, not feeling comfortablenegotiatingthefrontofhouseortheinevitablepaperwork
withherlimitedEnglish.SowhenAlemayohapproachedher
withtheideaofdoingtherestauranttogetherwithGebreas
full-timechef,Saba’swasborn.
It quicklybecamemorethana mother-daughteraffair.A
cousinwhohadrecentlyarrivedfromtheNetherlandsagreedto
helpoutinthekitchenandbecamea valuedsecondchefwhile
Alemayoh’syoungersister,Sara,thoughstillat school,worked
weekendshifts.Alemayohsaysthatthereareparticularchallenges
workingwithfamily.“Mymumdoesn’thavea lotofcarefactor
whenit comestospeed,”shesays.“Sheis verymeticulousin
thewayshewantsthingsdone,is notgoodat delegatingandis
a very,veryneatchef.Asa result,sheslowsthingsdown.I have
a restaurantfullofhungrypeopleandthefood’snotcomingout
ofthekitchenfastenough,butyoujusthavetomanagethat.”
It cangetfiery,butthat’swheretheadvantageofworking
withfamilycomesin.“MumandI fighteveryshift,butit’sokay,
becauseit happensquickly– it’sthereandthenit’sdoneand
30 secondslaterit’sforgotten,”saysAlemayoh.“That’sthegreat
thingaboutworkingwithfamily– youcanhavetheseflare-ups
andyoudon’thavetodealwithHR.Weusuallyhavedinner
togetherat theendofthenightandtalkaboutotherstuff.”
AsAlemayohseesit,workingwithfamilyis allaboutthe
artofcompromise.“Whenyourmother’stheheadchef,it
canbedifficulttochangethings,toimplementcertainthings
thatI’velearntorexperiencedthrougha Westernkitchen
thatwouldbebetter,moreproficientandproductive,”she
says.“Butsometimesyoujusthavetoletthatgoandletthe
kitchendictatethepacetokeepthepeace.”
Saba’sEthiopianRestaurant, 328 BrunswickSt,Fitzroy, Vic,
(03) 8589 0442, sabasethiopianrestaurant.comTekebashGebre&SabaAlemayoh
SABA’S ETHIOPIAN
RESTAURANT, VIC
by Michael Harden
Above,fromleft:Ethiopian
fermentedflatbread,injera;
SabaAlemayoh(fromleft)
and Tekebash Gebre.68 GOURMET TRAVELLER