Aheda Amro is originally from a small village called Halhul, in Palestine. She comes from a large family of five brothers and three sisters. She is a mother to four children and her husband sadly passed away 14 years ago. She came to Australia in 2018 but could not work as a chef due to a lack of Australian experience and certification. She started working as a café assistant and studied commercial cookery with Certificate IV and a Diploma of Advanced Management in Hospitality. She has almost completed Certificate III of her culinary studies.
Her passion for cooking began by watching her grandma cook and following her around in the kitchen. It brought her joy to see how food brought people together. She started her cooking journey by making a simple salad also known as a garden salad consisting of staple ingredients. It had tomato, onion, cucumber, salt, lemon, and olive oil. It is a well-loved recipe by many of her family members.
What do you enjoy about your cooking classes?
Chef Aheda Amro mentioned she feels like her grandma when leading her cooking classes and enjoys teaching others about her country’s cuisine. “When I first came to Australia, I noticed there weren’t any Palestinian restaurants, especially in a multicultural country.” This sparked the idea of bringing her love for Palestinian cuisine to the people of Melbourne to try. Despite being able to cook many Middle Eastern dishes, she prefers to cook Palestinian food. She enjoys teaching others about the different elements that go into Palestinian cooking from the spices, techniques, and methods of cooking. She encourages her attendees to use their hands when cooking as it comes from the heart. It also helps them understand the different textures of the ingredients that bring a dish together.
How do you make your classes easier for someone who does not know how to cook?
She makes sure to make the classes easy and reassures her attendees about the difficulty level. She uses techniques that are easy to understand and avoids using utensils for measurements. “I tell my attendees the measurements by hand with easy-to-understand techniques and use ingredients that many households may have.”
Do you have a dish you love teaching?
There are various dishes Chef Amro has experience cooking, but she loves teaching her attendees how to make Maqluba and Baba Ghanoush due to their simplicity and popularity. The dish can be made with ingredients found in most households consisting of vegetables like eggplant, cauliflower, carrot, and tomato which is cut and fried along with rice. This can be made for vegetarians and non-vegetarians making it a popular lunch dish for Palestinians. Another well-known dish, Baba Ghanoush, consists of finely chopped roasted eggplant, olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, and various seasonings. It’s versatile and easy to follow along for new cooks eager to learn Middle Eastern cuisine. While teaching her attendees how to cook different Palestinian dishes she also likes to educate them about the origins of the dishes being made. This allows for a more intimate and knowledgeable experience.
Do you have any advice for someone who wants to become a chef?
“You need to love to cook, when you’re passionate about something everyone else can taste it” she says. The element of cooking dishes from your home country also naturally guides you to cook the best cuisines. Anyone can study to become a chef but if you genuinely love what you do that is what will make you successful.
How have your cooking classes allowed you to improve?
Chef Aheda’s love for cooking while conducting her cooking classes has allowed her confidence to grow. “The comments made by my attendees on social media have been nothing but positive which makes me want to continue running my cooking classes.”
Sydney Cooking Class
Chef Aheda Amro’s first cooking classes held in Sydney towards the end of September consisted of two new dishes taught by Chef Aheda. The dishes were Knafeh which is a traditional Arabic dessert and Mansaf a traditional Jordanian dish. She opted to try out two popular Middle Eastern dishes often eaten in Palestinian households to change it up from her usual dishes. “I hope everyone had a wonderful time and enjoyed learning to cook some new dishes,” she said.
One year since the latest Gaza bombardments
It has been one year since the conflicts between Hamas and Israel began. Tragically, those who are innocent have endured most of the turmoil in this crossfire. Since then, thousands have been killed, injured, displaced, and continue to suffer. It has now escalated with Iran conducting missile strikes towards Israel highlighting the unrest in the Middle East. There does not seem to be an end to this continuing conflict and no prospects of peace anytime soon. Chef Aheda Amro had a few words to share about the ongoing situation.
“It is hard to have words to express how I feel about this situation, but I hope one day Palestinians are free and for the war to end.”
Despite the terrible situation unfolding in Palestine Chef Aheda Amro opened a food truck in Melbourne. It had a whopping 400 people line up to taste her delicious Palestinian cuisine. This goes to show regardless of the tragic situation unfolding in Palestine there are Palestinians who are showing resilience and continuing to fulfil their dreams and ambitions.
If you want to support and keep up with Chef Aheda Amro’s food truck in and cooking classes follow her on Instagram.