Tekebash and Saba

Born in Sudan, to Ethiopian parents, Saba arrived in Australia in 1999 with her mother when she was nine. After finishing school, Saba joined the Australian Army and was a part of the first era of women in the Australian Army to go into combat. After the army, Saba opened an eponymous restaurant in Melbourne's Fitzroy. She worked front of her house while her mother, Tekebash Gebre cooked the food of her homeland by memory, taste and instinct in the kitchen. Tekebash was born in Tigray, under the rule of the last Ethiopian emperor, who was overthrown in 1974 by a communist military government backed by the Soviet Union. She became a refugee in Sudan at the time of the rebellion during the transition in the 1990s from communism to a democratic government. After the closure of the restaurant, Saba relocated to Lagos, where she works in music and arts events and curates art shows.

• Where is Tigray?The backbone of the cuisineBerbere and dilikThe first dish she ever cookedEducation during a civil warFleeing TigrayLearning to cook in transitWedding? No. Married? Yes!His favourite dish with a side of mistressPregnancy cravingsMay Virgin Mary be with youShipped off at four years old for praying to the wrong godStarvin' MarvinLeaving SudanMy mum butchered a hen in an apartmentOpening a restaurant with my mum as head chefRaising a child through a tea cartAn attempt at dessertCoeliac-safe restaurantCOVID-19!MenusStockists and resourcesAcknowledgementsIndex

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