By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
DISHING up delicious Middle-Eastern cuisine out of a one-man kitchen six days a week is no pressure, says well-travelled chef Mohammad Jordy.
Zaytoun, his recently-opened homely cafe is a “holiday” compared to cooking for up to 2000 diners in big hotels in New Zealand, Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan.
But don’t be fooled into thinking that Jordy is now going through the motions.
This is high-class, generous food at an affordable price.
His traditional dishes such as felafel, hummus, kofta, labni and fatteh are prepared from scratch with highest-quality chick peas, beef and fava beans.
They are fastidiously presented on attractive platters with mixed pickled vegetables – including searing chillis – and olives imported from the Middle East.
The biggest surprise is Jordy’s nod to ‘Australian’ cuisine – a top-quality scotch fillet steak with French fries and ultra-creamy mushroom sauce.
He said he used to serve such steak for $49 when he cooked in a Docklands restaurant earlier this year.
At Zaytoun, his 200-plus gram serves of freshly-cleaved steak are astonishingly priced at $13.
That’s as expensive as this place gets – most of these uncommonly fine dishes are under $10.
Understandably it’s getting a loyal following from steak lovers in the area.
There is also a loyal legion of diners who say the Middle-Eastern dishes are the best in the south-east.
Personally, I haven’t found a better, lighter felafel – an incredibly soft chickpea mix infused with cotton oil and enclosed in a crispy shell.
Jordy said he is inspired by several master chefs who took him under their wings, as well as by his mother who used to put “so much love” into her food.
Even under the pressure of waiting and cooking for up to 20 customers, Jordy said he makes food with “a smile on my face”.
“I don’t hide in a corner – I like to talk to people.
“I make friends all over the world.”
Zaytoun is open Tuesday to Sunday, 9.30am to 9pm at Railway Parade, Noble Park.
