By Casey Neill
Persistence is paying off for Dandenong Market stallholder Rhonda Tannous.
The Why Not? bakery was bustling with customers when the Journal stopped by to learn about traditional Lebanese breads and pastries.
Flat bread, freshly-baked pizzas and money are flying across the stall but Ms Tannous keeps a board smile on her face and has a friendly word for every customer.
“You’ve got to love what you do. People need to see that you love what you do,” she said.
She worked at A1 Bakery in Lonsdale Street, Dandenong, for about 10 years before opening her own business in Hampton Park, serving up charcoal chicken, kebabs and fish and chips.
Chemist Warehouse bought the store so Ms Tannous returned to A1 before applying for a space in the market.
She got knocked back – “a few times, actually”.
“Then they finally accepted me,” she said, a wry smile creeping across her face, eyes glinting.
“I’m very determined. If I put my mind to something…
“I wanted a new challenge, something for me, something for our family.
“I wanted people to get to know our culture, our food.”
With her husband Kamil she opened Why Not? on 23 August 2011.
“When we first opened, all the stuff that was coming out of the oven, I cut it up into small pieces, put it on trays and carried it around to introduce people to the products,” she said.
The self-confessed chatterbox wasn’t afraid to raise her voice to attract customers.
“Usually you’ll hear me before you see me,” she said.
The store is open every market day. Ms Tannous and several family members bake traditional thin-based Lebanese pizzas and pastries around the clock.
Alongside the Middle Eastern flavours infused into the likes of lamb, spinach, lemon, onion, sumac and zaatar, are the Aussie-inspired pesto chicken and spinach and feta pastries.
“I might add felafel, made the traditional way, and maybe a few more traditional Lebanese sweets,” she said.
A favourite is a semi-circle shaped bread baked with halloumi cheese inside.
“We just give it time to rise properly,” she said.
“We work with the dough, not the dough works with us.
“We’ve got to wait for the dough, otherwise it won’t come out right.”
The baker rolls out the dough into a circle shape, fills it with halloumi, folds it over and crimps the edges together.
“It’s easy, it’s not hard, it’s just a lot of work,” Ms Tannous said.
