When Damascus native Racha Abou Alchamat immigrated to Australia 10 years ago with her family, starting a new life and searching for good opportunities, she longed for a taste of home. For Racha, the flavours of Syria signify more than satisfying food, they are a reminder of her heritage and years spent with her father as he ran his Damascus restaurant.
Yet finding Syrian food in her new Australian surroundings proved challenging. So Racha took matters into her own hands, cooking the cherished recipes herself. “I couldn’t find any Syrian food here which I used to eat,” she recalled. Little did Racha know, this act of culinary preservation would soon blossom into a thriving catering business sharing snippets of Syria’s food and culture with the Australian public.
When Racha first served her homemade Syrian specialties at a school festival, she simply hoped to recreate familiar flavours from back home. One of the dishes she offered was fatteh, a traditional Syrian casserole. The dish features layers of pita bread, creamy tahini sauce and chickpeas. It is a popular Ramadan dish in Damascus following a day of fasting. Racha could not predict the glowing reception from Australians tasting Syrian cuisine for the very first time. As she put it, “People started to like the food and say that it was delicious. This is what led me, step by step, to start doing small catering jobs.” Positive responses and interest propelled Racha towards founding her catering business, Racha’s Syrian Kitchen, which began introducing Syria’s food traditions to Australians from all walks of life.
Racha’s Syrian Kitchen soon developed a loyal following. What began as an intimate cultural exchange through home-style dishes became Racha’s calling card for spotlighting Syria’s vibrant heritage at large. “I want to show food is like a bridge between cultures,” she says.
So what accounts for the growing buzz surrounding Racha’s Syrian cooking in suburban Sydney? Racha points to a repertoire of signature Syrian ingredients used across a myriad of dishes: fresh lemon juice, fragrant spices, and aromatic fresh herbs like parsley and mint. Racha also highlights Syrian cuisine’s diversity, including flavour profiles spanning sweet and savoury. For example, Syrians enjoy bitter coffee and baklava pastries dripping in orange blossom water alongside hearty roasted eggplant or lamb dishes.
Though the Sydney community may be drawn in by the diverse flavours, for Racha, Syrian recipes represent a deeply personal connection to traditions back home. Cooking signature dishes brings back special memories of family gatherings around the table during Ramadan. Racha fondly recalls gathering with relatives in her Damascus family home before iftar time, prior to sunset, to ensure all the food was ready to break the fast. Every family member would come early to help set up and prepare. They’d come together after the sunset prayers to share in the iftar meal, breaking their daylong fasts with soup, breads, and sweets that would carry into the late evening during Islam’s holy month.
Continuing these decades-old food rituals in Australia connects Racha to values of religion, charity and community, which are central to Ramadan. For instance, many Muslim families donate extra food and funds for the less fortunate. She explained, “It’s about being calm all this month – about discipline. You don’t get angry. You think about your behaviours.” Gathering for the fast-breaking Iftar meal holds symbolic meaning too. Feeding loved ones demonstrates both literal and religious nourishment.
Racha actively works to keep Syria’s cuisine and rituals alive for her own children in their new Australian home. Though a small family in Australia and hectic schedules present challenges, time-honoured food remains a powerful connection to their Syrian heritage. Racha teaches her sons to cook Ramadan staples like fatteh, passing down generations-old recipes.
The scents and tastes of Syrian cuisine reawaken Racha’s nostalgia for her homeland. But they also spotlight the diversity of Syria’s culture for Australians unfamiliar with Syria beyond news headlines. Racha welcomes this opportunity to promote cross-cultural understanding through food. At Racha’s Syrian Kitchen’s events, cooking classes, and pop-up meals, families and friends gather over dishes that spark conversation about Syria’s varied traditions.
Racha’s goal is profound in its simplicity, “I cook to introduce our food to people. We all have a story.” One mouthwatering bite at a time Racha is encouraging greater insight and understanding into Syria’s culture and history.
