Tom’s story
Tom grew up in a family where food is a religion and mealtimes are a sacred ceremony. His mother is a gardener and his father and grandfather are both chefs and if the Sarafian family aren't planting, growing, cooking or eating food, they're talking about food.
While Tom has really been training as a chef since birth, he started his formal apprenticeship at Melbourne's famous Stokehouse Restaurant in 2005. In 2008, he discovered Greg Malouf's cookbooks and was thrilled to see the traditional cuisine of his Armenian-Egyptian grandparents being presented with such modern finesse. Tom went to work alongside Greg at the legendary MoMo, pursuing his passion for middle eastern cooking.
From there, Tom moved to London to work at the Michelin Star restaurant Petersham Nurseries Cafe and then Fergus Henderson's world-renowned St John restaurant.
At St John, Tom had the privilege of cooking for some of London's biggest culinary names, including Anthony Bourdain and Nigella Lawson. He then explored Levantine and Spanish cuisines working at the iconic Moro with Sam and Samantha Clark.
Tom came home to Melbourne via a four-month research trip through Spain, Morocco, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Lebanon and Armenia, he applied this new knowledge to his first head chef role at East Brunswick favourite, Rumi.
After running Rumi for three years Tom returned to the Middle East, this time visiting Iran, Beirut and Istanbul before helping open Bar Saracen in the Melbourne CBD in 2018 to critical acclaim. Bar Saracen was number one in the Herald Sun's Delicious 100 awards 'people's choice' category in 2018 - a remarkable feat in its first year - and number five in 2019.
At Saracen, Tom cooked some of the city’s favourite Arabic food, combining traditional techniques and recipes with innovative touches and beautiful local produce.
It was at Saracen that Tom’s developed his dish of hummus topped with king prawn and spanner crab, which became one of the must-eat dishes of Melbourne. The hummus that was the foundation for the dish is the same you’ll find in Sarafian Melbourne jars.
After Saracen’s closure in February 2021, Tom cooked at Little Andorra in Carlton for a four-month residency and continues to cook at events around the country.