Greg Malouf

Greg Malouf (1959 – September 2024) was an Australian chef of Lebanese descent, author, and culinary consultant. He was known as a pioneer of modern Middle Eastern cuisine in Australia and for the influence that his work has had on Middle Eastern cuisine at large.

Malouf won the James Beard Foundation Award for his book Suqar in 2019. He was also awarded two hats at the chef's hat awards by the Age Food Guide. Petersham Nurseries Café in Richmond, London acquired a Michelin star and owned a spice range called "Malouf's Mezza". He was considered to be one of the foremost authorities on Middle Eastern cuisine and had a significant impact on the way people think about and approach this cuisine. At age 18, he left home, leaving a message for his parents stating that he wanted to be a chef. After several nights sleeping in his personal car, he scrounged up a day job cutting metal balustrades and an evening job as a kitchen hand at a Mexican restaurant in Sydney. He spent some time in Europe from 1981 to 1983 working in various restaurants across the continent. In 1991 he moved back to Melbourne where he was appointed head chef at O'Connell's Restaurant in South Melbourne, His reputation for contemporary Middle Eastern food got cemented there and under his leadership the restaurant wins numerous awards. It is the first Middle Eastern restaurant to be awarded a ‘hat’ in The Age Good Food Guide.

In 1999, he published Saha: a Chef’s Journey through Lebanon and Syria with his then wife Lucy Malouf, the foreword to which would later be written by Anthony Bourdain.

In 2001, Malouf took the helm at MoMo restaurant where his contemporary approach to Middle Eastern cuisine was met with critical acclaim. During his tenure there, the restaurant successfully earned a one-hat status in the Age

In 2012 Malouf was invited to head up the Petersham Nurseries Café in Richmond, South London. Under his leadership the restaurant earned a Michelin Star.

In 2019, Suqar Desserts and Sweets From The Modern Middle East won the James Beard Award for Baking and Desserts.

Illness and death Malouf suffered from heart problems from an early age. In 1981, he had a triple bypass surgery at age 21 in Paris. He had his first heart transplant in 1989, and a second transplant in the early 2000s after his body rejected the donor heart.

Malouf died in September 2024, at the age of 65.

Books

Foreword By Anthony Bourdain

Won the James Beard Foundation award in 2019

Awards