COLLABORATIONS
Baba’s Place | McMullin Journal
Baba's Place is an Inner West gem that celebrates suburban cuisine through a unique blend of art, food, and culture. From the Front of House to the Bar and Kitchen, the team proudly considers themselves Baba's favourite grandchildren—always ready to welcome you with open arms and a hearty "allo."
Though it doubles as a creative agency and regularly hosts DJs and visual artists, Baba's Place remains, at its core, a haven for delicious food. The kind of food that could inspire an entire thesis—think white dips, charred sugarloaf cabbage, roasted flathead, cumin-laden skewers, and deserts like olive oil gelato and chewy sticky dates with creme pat + butterscotch.
We visited the team to step into their world, learning the tricks and secrets behind their beloved dishes. They shared a family-favourite recipe that’s perfect for summer—so you can bring a little taste of Baba’s Place to your own table this summer.
What's your name and what do you do?
Alexander:
Alexander Kelly and I’m Co-Founder and the Creative Director of Baba’s Place. What does that mean for a restaurant? Baba’s is very conceptual at its core so I guess it means just sticking to that true north and guiding the ideology of the restaurant and its other ventures.
Jean-Paul:
Jean-Paul El Tom and I am the Co-Founder / Executive Chef / Director of Consumables at Baba's Place.
"Baba's Place remains, at its core, a haven for delicious food. The kind of food that could inspire an entire thesis..."
Baba's Place represents so much more than a restaurant. Can you tell us about your approach to food, interiors and community and how it tells the story of what Baba's Place is all about?
Alexander:
Materially it is very much a restaurant. Symbolically though, we believe we’ve always strived for more than that or at least to redefine what that word means. Baba's aesthetic/interiors/art design is about contrast, tension and patience e.g we love our culture and our grandparents (evidenced in older textures like doilies) but we think nostalgia is incredibly limiting and dishonest (industrial warehouse, contemporary references and inventive cuisine). Me and Zaal Kaboli our art director will “mind meld” (it’s what we call our ideation sessions) figure out an application and either Zaal will take the baton and translate this into a visual/graphic platform (he’s an absolute graphic wiz) or we will bring in Molly our marketing director and our broader community of talented creatives to pull off what we think will be a necessary inclusion to the Baba’s Place artistic world. For us it’s always about story and collaboration but never in some purely romantic or cheap way.
Jean-Paul:
My approach to food begins with things I enjoy eating or colours I enjoy looking at. Then I try to move that in the direction of ingredients that are seasonal and exciting to work with. Baba's Place is all about welcoming people into our restaurant which feels like an extension of our home so I tend to extend that hospitality to the greater community. If you're hungry we will have food for you. In terms of interior I gravitate to those things which I am familiar with and make me feel safe. I love Arab architecture; many balconies, archways and sandstone. Inside I like soft squishy surfaces ideal for lounging around. Lots of plants!
How would you describe the aesthetic of Baba's Place in 3 words.
Alexander:
Messy, honest and anachronistic.
Jean-Paul:
Discontinuous, colourful and fun.
What is your favourite dish and best memory associated with it?
Alexander:
My Baba’s chicken schnitzel. Growing up across the road from her in Greenacre was a time in my life that I’ll never be able to get back but one that fuels me in ways I can’t even describe.
Jean-Paul:
My favorite dish is my dad's BBQ snapper with tahini sauce. I remember coming home on Wednesdays after school to a full on charcoal BBQ for just one fish. I was very lucky.
What, who or where is inspiring you right now?
Alexander:
Academics like Ghassan Hage and Mirjana Lozanovska are always a source of inspiration for me as is the burgeoning field of “suburban research”. Alex N Rolls in Marrickville and their refusal to succumb to predictable consumerism is legendary. And, my good friend the preternatural artist Timothy Vernon Moore.
Jean-Paul:
The talented chefs of Sydney there are so many , AP Bakery, Ester, Sixpenny, shang lamb soup, my staff and the people and my family who are fighting adversity and smiling in Lebanon and Palestine.
Tell us about a project / something you're working on that's exciting you right now?
Alexander:
We are playing around with a lot of filming for a new restaurant we have coming. It’s a deep dive into a particular ethnicity/culture and the people I’ve come across have been beautiful.
Jean-Paul:
I have been lucky enough to do a Lebanese Bakery pop up at Baba's Place called Wounded Bakery. All I want to do is cook Lebanese food right now as that is what is really exciting me. I get fresh flour from my neighbour AP Bakery and it's really a fun time.
What is the most interesting thing you've learnt about since opening to Baba's Place?
Alexander:
The more specific you go the more universal it becomes.
Jean-Paul:
A little bit of knowledge can kill you, especially when it comes to baking.
What's next! New menu items, events, collabs?
Alexander:
Actually a lot of things to be honest…maybe too many things? A new restaurant, a new cafe, some creative projects we are assisting on and a book.
Jean-Paul:
Currently I am focusing on opening something new in 2025, which I can’t share too much about right now.
You're based in Marrickville, Sydney - what is your local hero and best kept secret?
Alexander:
I already mentioned Alex N Rolls so I’ll mention the other Marrickville legends - double tap. You will not find any place that is more comfortable with who they are than these guys.
Jean-Paul:
VN Street foods, Tita’s and Double taps coffee.
Baba’s Place Yoghurt and Cucumber Dish by Executive Chef & Director of Consumables Jean-Paul
You’ll Need:
1 kg of the best yoghurt you can find. We use our house made yoghurt with a culture from the north of Lebanon.
1 cucumber peeled leaving some skin on
1/2 lemon juice
Tablespoon of chopped dill
Salt
Pepper
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil that is robust and has main character energy (I used oil my dad made from his farm in Lebanon)
Bread of your choice to eat with the dish. We used our pita pockets we make in house.
Method:
1. Hang your yoghurt overnight using a cheesecloth to remove the whey. Use the leftover whey to brine chicken, make caramel or even use in a drink
2. Whisk yoghurt until smooth and add some whey back in if it’s too thick. Season with a little salt to your preferred taste
3. Slice the cucumber into circles on a bias about 1/2 cm thick
4. Slice circles into 1/2 cm strips
5. Add strips to a mixing bowl and season with lemon, dill, olive oil, salt and some cracked pepper
6. Spoon some yoghurt onto the middle of your serving plate
7. Cascade the seasoned cucumbers on top of the yoghurt knoll
8. Add some more cracked pepper on top
9. Enjoy, you deserve it.
Restaurant: Baba's Place
Photographer: Nic Gossage