Community and connection are the key ingredients to success for Wassim and Marcia Saliba, owners of long-standing Border restaurant La Maison. Photo: Minerva Taylor.
Wassim and Marcia Saliba have shared every life milestone imaginable with generations of Border diners at their long-standing La Maison Restaurant on Gateway Island.
They’ve laughed, cried, celebrated and served up ladles of love on a plate for the past 19 years, pouring their passion for food and their community into a welcoming dining oasis that’s more than stood the test of time.
“We’ve seen people go through all the stages of their lives and we feel a deep connection to this community,” Wassim says.
“We are not just a place where people eat. Our food is a continuation of relationships we’ve formed over a long time and this place would not be what it is without our customers.”
Born in Lebanon, Wassim’s love of fresh produce and cooking wholesome, flavoursome food was nurtured at the knee of his grandmother.
After moving to Australia in 2001 to study and work in IT, Wassim found his way back to his roots and into the hospitality industry in Albury-Wodonga.
In 2007, Wassim and Marcia purchased the old Customs House, a 160-year-old historically significant building, after falling in love with its charm “straight away”.
They brought it to life and over the years have expanded the Gateway Island venue with sympathetic renovations that have included restoring the Bluestone Cottage into an intimate function room and adding an expansive, modern indoor/outdoor dining area at the back.
Their menu is inspired by Australian, Asian and Middle Eastern flavours, all served with the type of welcoming hospitality and exceptional service that sees generations of diners return again and again.
They’ve survived floods, break-ins, and even “thrived” through the brutal cross-Border lockdowns of COVID (thanks to some quick-thinking ingenuity and unwavering customer loyalty).
And they’ve done it all while raising their three children, Xander, 18, Angelus, 15 and Eleora, 13, who are now working alongside their mum and dad to continue the La Maison story.
Region caught up with 43-year-old Wassim recently as part of our regular ‘Five Minutes With’ series.
Best recent dining experience: I’m part of a wine club that meets once a month and my wife Marcia and I recently hosted 16 people in our home. We wanted to highlight the food and spicy flavours of the Seychelles.
A lot of these guys love seafood so we went all out with that, matched with 12 different wines from Paul Muntz. The degustation-style menu featured fresh oysters, two types of fish (a traditional tuna curry and grilled mangrove jack with a green paw paw chutney and singapore-style chilli sauce), big prawns halved like lobsters (with a chilli crab take), slow-cooked marinated octopus with a traditional salad, another curry with mussels, finishing with a creme caramel.
Essentially it was fusion cuisine, representing the Seychelles’ rich mix of influences from so many countries including African, European and Asian origins.
Most embarrassing pantry item: I would take anyone for a walk in my pantry – either in the restaurant or at home. There’s nothing in there I would hide.
Ingredients you can’t live without: Spices (chilli is a must and it’s always on the menu whether for breakfast, lunch or dinner), garlic, and a really good olive oil (it should be in every pantry).
Next big thing in food: Look, I think at the moment there are lots of places dumbing down their menus. It would be really nice to see more traditional, intricate cooking of real food by people with great skills.
Biggest culinary influence: My grandmother is my inspiration and it’s where I got my love for food and cooking as a child. Mum’s family has always been involved in food, and we used to go to Lebanon for holidays where preparing and enjoying food together truly was a family affair. People ask me if I’m a chef – I reply that I know food really, really well. I’ve known it for 43 years!
Top three cooking tips:
1. There are rules but the love has got to be there. If you are not cooking with passion, and from the heart, all the best equipment in the world won’t matter. You need to feel and see what’s happening – that’s a key ingredient.
2. You need sharp knives if you spend any time in the kitchen. There is nothing worse than trying to fight with preparation.
3. With any meal or event, planning is as important as what you are serving on the day itself.
Death row meal: (Laughs) Oh, that’s a hard one … probably a special soup my mum would make from a type of spinach, garlic and coriander. The leaves are cooked to create a gelatinous broth (it’s Egyptian by origin) called Mulukhiyah. It’s a complex dish with a rich flavour and you can use it a bit like medicine. I’d have that.
La Maison Restaurant, at 40 Lincoln Causeway, Gateway Island, is open Tuesday to Saturday, 11:30 am to 10 pm for lunch and dinner. For more details or to book, visit the website.
