A training exercise, in which he hoped to show his staff that the job of a pastry chef was not one-dimensional, resulted in a new book — Arabian Dreams.

To assume that one’s chosen profession should result in tunnel vision for the rest of your life is not one that sits easily with Aaron Maree, a local chef and author of Arabian Dreams - Innovative New Age Middle Eastern Desserts for the Next Generation.

“I’ve always held the view that people are more than what their job description suggests,” says Aaron. “I might be a pastry chef but this has also allowed me to travel around the globe and to write and get my ideas published. In my latest book, there’s an array of material on the theory of pastries, the thought processes behind the creations and detailed recipes.”

Aaron has been writing books since the age of 19, racking up 15 titles on cakes, pastries, tarts and gateaux of the world — and his greatest love, chocolate.

“I was really surprised when my first book became a global hit when it was first released in 1990,” Aaron recalls. “It has both inspired and motivated me to keep on writing, sometimes to the angst of my editors I suspect!”

In Arabian Dreams, Aaron has deviated from the celebrity chef approach of his first fourteen tomes.

“Ever since I was young all I ever wanted to do was to cook.

I love coming to work every day. I am not a celebrity kind of guy. I don’t like the attention of the media. I prefer to work, bake and train in quiet; the results I seek are on the faces of the guests who devour my food,” he says. “My new book encompasses this philosophy.”

Fountain of inspiration
Arabian Dreams contains a foreword by international Michelin Star and multiple restaurant-owning, celebrity chef Gary Rhodes, OBE.

“Gary was my first executive chef when I left Australia in the late 1980s. At that time he was trying to prove to the world that traditional English food could be Michelin Star standard,” Aaron says. “He made me respect the basics and to view traditions differently. That’s why I asked him to review the manuscript and, if he thought it worthy, to write the foreword.

I was absolutely thrilled when he said he would.”

In the book Aaron aims to elevate the quality and the traditions behind Arabic desserts and to show they can transcend into modern styles. He says the tears welled up in his eyes when he read Gary’s foreword for the first time.

His friend and mentor had written, “The wonderful clarity of the sea that surrounds the Middle East is felt within all of these recipes, becoming sharp and crystal clear in explanation, leaving you with a desire to dive in. Arabian Dreams stands strong to its title, providing the reader with a whole new experience of the Middle East, and a fresh inspiration for more.”

Contained within the pages of the book are 50 individual dishes and over 150 recipes. Each is complete with photographs, an explanation of the dish, the recipe and the methods and ingredients to prepare it yourself.