Maltese Australian chef Sharon Spiteri says "Food has been intrinsically part of our culture. It’s been an important part of my life."
Her book, Traditional Sweet Recipes from Malta is a tribute and homage to Malta’s beauty and charm through the medium of food. As she explains, for her, the cuisine provides an intrinsic link back to her homeland.
"I studied full-time at the Institute of Tourism (in Malta)" Spiteri tells SBS Maltese. "Every trip going to Malta is finding and discovering new things, but apart from food and cookery - which are a huge part of our culture - it is the feeling of the land, the connection it feels being in a different part of the world."
As to what makes the dishes so unique - and distinctly Maltese, Spiteri says, "For me if we go back to food is the basic commodities, basic ingredients, they all taste different."
A classic example? "Obviously our bread, we have famous crunchy Maltese bread," she says.
Spiteri is an accomplished chef, having worked within five star hotels such as the Melbourne Hilton and Grand Hyatt Melbourne, but she says her book of sweet recipes from Malta is the highlight of her career.
Source: Sharon Spiteri - supplied
"I’m actually a qualified chef but I branched into pastry, so at Malta Hilton I worked both in pastry and other parts of the kitchen and basically everywhere, but when I came back to Melbourne, I worked at Melbourne Hilton, Grand Hyatt exclusively in pastry."
While Spiteri specialises in this complex niche in her professional life, she says "but at home, honestly even now when I have a birthday I go back to my Maltese favourites."
"Because you always go back to the things that you love and once again it’s just like having mum in the kitchen, it is a very personal thing I like to share."
"It’s my connection to the Maltese culture, my connection with my parents and without exaggeration it’s the most important thing to me."
Source: Sharon Spiteri
"It’s not only important to deliver nutritious food to our family but also to lovingly provide quality food at the table."
For her new book Sharon recreated many of the Maltese traditional recipes that remind her of her childhood days, helping her mother in the kitchen. She explains: "I found it difficult through the decades to find authentic Maltese recipes that work and I thought it’s time that I did this and reflect the Malta that I feel, know and love."
"It’s been a lot of work in developing the recipes to make sure that you produce a good product that works every time."
Spiteri explains that another aspect of the book is the "provincial everyday photos and scenes of Malta within its page." You’ve basically got a piece of Malta at home."
Besides Maltese traditional sweets like the Biskuttini tar-Raħal (Village Biscuits), Biskuttini tal-Lewż, (Almond Macaroons), Qagħaq tal-Għasel (Honey Rings) and Imqaret (Date Slices) Spiteri's book includes sweet recipes within the repertoire of Maltese cuisine that have been adopted from Italian influences such as Qubbajt (Nougat) Torta tal-Lewż (Almond Torte) and Kannoli (Cannoli).
Chef and cookbook author Sharon Spiteri visits Malta Source: Supplied - Sharon Spiteri
"It's a beautiful way of communication, when people sit together and eat, it’s an intimate time."
Addressing whether there is a growing interest in Maltese cuisine thanks to the current boom in food and TV cooking shows Sharon says, “There is a resurgence now, people are becoming excited about food because I think within Australia and some other countries for a while people we not cooking."
She says though that "Within our Maltese culture I think we always have."
"It’s been huge part of us, it’s not only important to deliver nutritious food to our family but also to lovingly provide quality food at the table; obviously part of that is sharing, it’s about the preparation, the love."
"It's a beautiful way of communication, when people sit together and eat, it’s an intimate time."
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Traditional Sweet Recipes from Malta
