Charmaine Solomon and the many flavours of Multiculturalism                            

Australian cuisine is as diverse as its people, however this was not always the case. Over time, Australians have been tempted by their sense of smell and taste to open their mouths and their minds to other cultures. Asian dishes now dominate the restaurant scene and fill the supermarket shelves. Charmaine Solomon, a Sri Lankan immigrant with a love for family and food has played a vital role in introducing the spice and flavour of Asia to Australian taste buds.

For Charmaine and the whole of Sri Lanka, June 5 1956 was a memorable day. On this day Charmaine stood in her gown and veil, young and in love. She was waiting for a musician named Reuben to join her for the first steps in a marriage, which is still strong fifty-one years later. To Charmaine’s dismay, however, he was two hours late. Reuben was caught up in riots across Colombo, marking the beginning of a bitter struggle that would divide Sri Lanka for decades. On that day, the discussion of a controversial language bill in the Sri Lankan Parliament sparked unrest, which led to a long and bloody civil war. It was this which ultimately drove Charmaine and Reuben with their first two children, Nina and Debbie, to flee a privileged existence in Colombo for an uncertain future in Australia.

Charmaine arrived in Australia by sea in October 1959. Since this time she has written over thirty books, including ‘The Complete Asian Cook Book’, which has sold over a million copies. Charmaine brought Asian cuisine into Australian kitchens with easy to follow recipes and more recently launched her own selection of pre-prepared Asian dishes. Now a household name, Charmaine's books and products can be found in many Australian homes.

Entering Australia during the ‘White Australia Policy’, Charmaine only gained access to the country after proving her Dutch heritage. On arrival in Sydney, her family lived in a converted garage in Potts Point. Reuben played music in the evenings as he had done in Colombo, leaving Charmaine, an anxious mother, alone at home till the early hours. She passed the time by cooking.

“I was at home with the kids and then when they went to bed I was alone. I would hear noises and I found it a great comfort to cook” Charmaine said.

“It was like a kind of therapy for me. I had never properly cooked before in Colombo. I was good at making cakes and that was about it,” she said.

It was these sweet treats, however which turned out to be her ticket into a successful career. It all started when Charmaine entered the ‘Butter White Wings Bake off’ in 1963. Unfortunately, her first attempt in this national cake competition, a chocolate hazelnut cake, was not successful. A disgruntled Charmaine decided against entering again, until her husband gave her the encouragement she needed.

“Reuben said to me, ‘Come on Charmaine, you have got to be in it to win it’. So I did, and I came second. I won $500 and had a smile on my face for weeks” Charmaine said.

“Six months after the competition I got the real prize. Margaret Fulton, Food Editor for Women’s Day, had heard about me when I won the competition and called me up to offer me a job as a food journalist. I said yes” She said.

After working for Women’s Day for some time, Charmaine was approached by a publisher to write the ‘South East Asian Cook Book’. This book did so well that Charmaine was asked to tackle the ‘big one’, ‘The Complete Asian Cook Book’. This was a family effort.

“Rueben was working three jobs so I could write my book, and my daughter Debbie was also a great support at this time. She accompanied me on my research trip of Asia and even put all her savings towards it. She was only sixteen” Charmaine said.

The research trip for ‘The Complete Asian Cook Book’ took Charmaine and her daughter on a gastronomic discovery tour of Asia, which included stop offs in Hong Kong, Thailand, Bombay, Cambodia, Malaysia and her home country of Sri Lanka. When Charmaine returned from her trip she brought with her the flavours of Asia and meticulously recorded them in the pages of ‘The Complete Asian Cook Book’. It was a huge success and played a major role in diversifying the Australian pallet and opening the minds of Australians to the cultures that surround them.

“Food is a great unifier and this is not just for families. Multicultural communities who want to try each others food gain insight into each others cultures” she said.

The traditional lamb roast is no longer the meal of choice in Australia. The aroma of Thai or Vietnamese spices waft through the evening streets, often mingling with the distinct familiar smell of a sausage sizzle. As Australia's love affair with chilli, soy, ginger, noodles and 'woktastic' stir-fries has developed, so has the appreciation for the cultures that introduced these flavours to the wider community. With her many cook books, Charmaine Solomon has not only brought a little piece of Asia into Australian homes, but into our hearts. A community that shares food, shares traditions and learns a little bit more about each other.