Spread the word: suddenly hot hummus much more than a dip

A growing restaurant trend is dedicated to elevating the status of hummus from snack to main meal.

Daniella Pizzo, Augustina Aldabalde, Rafael Parisotto and Camilla Jensen at Simply Hummus Bar in Sydney. Picture: Britta Campion

Hummus may be the most popular dip in Australian fridges, but a growing restaurant trend is dedicated to elevating the status of the snack into a meal in its own right.

The opening of Sydney’s first bar dedicated to the dip is part of a surge in global hummus vogue that has already spread from its native Middle East and made waves across Europe and America.

With chickpeas at its base, styles of hummus from around the Middle East differ by how much tahina (ground sesame seeds), lemon and olive oil are added. New varieties with different toppings are growing in popularity.

Last year, Melbourne hummus manufacturer Yumi’s, which produces 100 tonnes of hummus each week, was bought by George Weston, the owner of Don smallgoods and part owner of the Associated British Foods company.

Vegetarian Daniella Pizzo, who ‘‘eats a lot of hummus’’, said the concept of it as a meal was ‘‘fantastic’’.

Ms Pizzo had lunch with colleagues at Simply Hummus Bar in Sydney’ Darlinghurst.

Diner Rafael Parisotto said: “Everyone likes it, it’s healthy, and vegans can eat it too.”

Camilla Jensen said: “It makes such a difference when it’s served fresh and hot. It’s a proper dish.”

And while the concept of going out to eat a meal of hummus might seem foreign to Australian customers, the bar’s owner, Yoash Dvir, grew up with hummus as a national dish. “It’s about time to bring it to Sydney,” Mr Dvir told The Australian. The Israeli lawyer turned hummus chef moved to Sydney last year after seeing hummus bars pop up around New York, where he had been working in the technology sector.

When planning his bar, Mr Dvir knew the biggest challenge would be changing how hummus is viewed by Australians.

“I had a business plan ‘from dip to dish’ and that’s what we’re working on. Explaining to Australians that it’s not just a cold dip, but you eat it warm with a fork and with pita (bread),” Mr Dvir said.

He said the bar has been well received. “Everybody sits here and I listen to the ‘oohs’ and the ‘aaghs’ when they eat it warm and fresh for the first time,” he said.