Harrods head chef Phillip Khoury’s wedding cake to be served at Misc restaurant Parramatta Park

More than 17,000km from Harrods in London, diners at a western Sydney restaurant are savouring a dessert produced by the store’s head pastry chef and western Sydney native.

Harrods' head pastry chef Philip Khoury with his special wedding cake-inspired dessert.

You can take the boy out of Parramatta, but when you do he’s going to return and delight diners with a dessert fit for the head pastry chef at the celebrated Harrods department store in London, which Philip Khoury happens to be.

The former Parramatta Marist student and Oatlands dweller ascended to the London landmark as a trailblazing plant-based head chef after cutting his skills at acclaimed Sydney establishments including Quay Restaurant and with patissier Adriano Zumbo.

Between now and Valentine’s Day, his decadent, wedding cake-inspired dessert will be served at Misc restaurant at Parramatta Park, helmed by Gogglebox star Jad Nehmetallah.

The friends met at the launch of Nehmetallah’s digital cookbook Bake For Beirut to raise funds for Lebanon in the wake of the Beirut blast in August 2020.

They have remained close and Khoury’s brother, Alan, held his wedding reception at Misc, where Nehmetallah was the MC at his beloved venue.

Jad Nehmetallah with Harrods' head pastry chef Philip Khoury, with a sample of the wedding cake-inspired dessert at Misc.

It’s also where guests dined on the five-tiered fruit-filled cake Khoury crafted over three days in the Misc kitchen.

Nehmetallah swiftly endorsed the creation by the “incredible’’ chef who has thrived at Harrods since 2018.

“It’s absolutely delicious,’’ he said.

“It’s got a beautiful hazelnut sponge, chocolate, really delicious passionfruit cream mixed with berries.

“It’s balanced, it’s creative, it’s a labour of love.’’

Fresh mango and a rick chocolate mousse are part of the dessert, which Nehmetallah knew he had to serve Misc patrons and hatched the idea to offer it for a limited time between now and Valentine’s Day.

Harrods' head pastry chef Philip Khoury at his brother Alan's wedding with the berry-coated cake.

The plant-based cake contains light hazelnut sponge, fresh mango, passionfruit jam and mousse, rich chocolate mousse, adorned with fresh summer berries.

Award-winning patissier and chocolatier Khoury unveiled his cookbook, A New Way to Bake at Misc last week.

“The things I’ve made that are most special to me are the ones I’ve made for people I love,’’ he said.

“As the venue of both my brother’s wedding and recent book launch, Misc holds a special place in my heart. I jumped at the chance to leave a piece of myself here in Sydney with a special dessert on the Misc menu.’’

Nehmetallah says Khoury’s achievements overseas are “fantastic”.

“I commend him for being courageous and following his dreams and leaving his family and friends behind and pursuing his passion, and making an impact in London,’’ he said.

“I think from my experience he pushes the boundaries and he’s not scared to test things.’’

“Everything we did at the book launch was extremely, extremely delicious. he makes incredible chocolate chip cookies with olive oil rather than butter.’’

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