SUQAR: Desserts and Sweets from the Modern Middle East

SUQAR (which means 'sugar' in Arabic) shares the secrets of more than 100 sweet treats inspired by Middle Eastern flavours - ranging from puddings and pastries, to ice creams, cookies, cakes, candied fruit and nuts. The traditional time to eat sweets in the Middle East is not after meals (when fruit is served) but at breakfast, with coffee in between meals or on religious holidays. However the repertoire of these dishes is vast. Now acclaimed chef, Greg Malouf, has taken his unsurpassed knowledge of these traditional recipes, flavours and ingredients and merged it with his European kitchen training to create mouthwatering delights for Westerners to serve as desserts and teatime treats. The results are delicious and they have been favourites with diners at his restaurants over decades. The book's ten chapters cover: Fruit; Dairy; Frozen; Cakes; Cookies; Pastries; Doughnuts, Fritters & Pancakes; Halvas & Confectionery; Preserves; and Drinks. Greg Malouf, the master of modern Middle Eastern food, takes its traditional sweet recipes and flavours (spices, flower waters and other sweet essences) and adds fabulous new twists that are sure to impress your guests.

Acclaimed as the master of modern Middle Eastern cooking, Greg Malouf transformed the Australian restaurant scene over several decades with his innovative food. Greg's reputation as the creator of a new style of cooking known as Modern Middle Eastern - which has changed forever the perception of Middle Eastern food in the West - reaches far beyond his native Australia. Along with writing partner Lucy Malouf, he has produced nine (including SUQAR) beautiful and award-winning books on different cuisines, starting with Arabesque in 1999. In 2011, he was honoured as Ambassador by The American University in Beirut for his achievements in promoting Lebanese cuisine around the world. In 2012, Greg left the award winning MoMo restaurant in Melbourne, Australia, to take over the reins at the iconic Petersham Nurseries Café in Richmond, UK. His Middle Eastern take on seasonal dining earned the restaurant a Michelin star. He has since moved to the Middle East, and is now based in Dubai, where he oversees the kitchen at Zaahira, a 130-seat restaurant at the 5-star H Dubai Hotel, as well as consulting.

Lucy Malouf was born and raised in England, but moved to Australia in 1989. She has had a varied career, with jobs ranging from chamber maid, caterer and short-order cook, to educational psychologist and financial analyst. In 1998, she traded in her job with a Wall Street firm to pursue her passion for food by marrying a chef and becoming a waitress. Although neither of these moves proved successful, they were the starting point for a new career in food, travel and writing. The books he has created with Greg Malouf, her former husband, have been translated into multiple languages and are now published around the world. Lucy has also now returned to England, and lives in Kent, The Garden State, where she relishes country life.