When now 25-year-old Su Su arrived in Australia after 18 years in a refugee camp at the border of Thaliand and Burma, she was scared.
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First settled in beachside Windang with her mum and dad, who fled persecution in the civil war when she was a baby, Su would cower at the sound of the ocean.
“The waves scared me because over there you had to run away from the soldiers and the boom of the waves kind of reminded me of those scary sounds,” she remembers.
“Over there you live in the jungle in tents, and never see aeroplanes, buildings – everything was so different. I was so scared of shopping, of being lost and not able to speak English.”
In the eight years since this unsettling arrival, Su has drawn on support from the Wollongong refugee agency SCARF, which she credits for helping her channel her passion for cooking into an apprenticeship and job at Wollongong foodie cafe, Sandygoodwich.
On Monday night, Su will fuse her heritage with her new life by serving up a Burmese dish of pickled green tea leaves as part of a fundraising dinner for the refugee agency.
“This is just such a good feeling to be able to share my Burmese food,” she said.
Held at Sandygoodwich’s sister restaurant – Eat At Sandys in Bulli – the communal-style four-course meal will bring together food from the seven cultures of chefs working at both restaurants.
Owner Emma Huber said staff at the restaurants came up with the idea for the “Feast of Origin” event to raise money after watching the humanitarian crisis in Syria unfold.
“We wanted to do something to help, and we decided to make it something that would make a difference to refugees locally,” Ms Huber said. “We also wanted to celebrate our amazing diversity of food cultures, and what refugees can bring to Australia.
“Working with someone like Su is such a pleasure, and just a constant reminder of what Australia has to offer. For [partner] Yon and me, our eight grandparents were all Jewish refugees so it’s really important to see this carried through.”
Chefs and staff at Eat At Sandys will donate their time to the event, which means all funds excluding the cost of ingredients will be given to SCARF to support new Illawarra refugees.
After Su’s Burmese-based amuse bouche, diners will be served an entrée from New Zealand and Scotland, main meal from the Middle East and a dessert combining traditions of Austria and Germany. Matched wines, from Samuel Smith and Sons, will also be available.
For tickets ($90) and further details contact the restaurant on 4283 7739.
For information about SCARF visit: https://www.facebook.com/SCARFrefugees/
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
