We are a social enterprise cafe and restaurant in Sunshine that helps refugees, new migrants and asylum seekers become thriving community members with social confidence and financial independence.
Established
SalamaTea is a registered charity that began in 2019.
Business Model
We employ people who are new in this country because it is difficult to make a first connection when arriving in Australia. We support them with employment and training and help them build confidence and experience so they can get jobs in other places.
Founder & Director Hamed Allahyari
Meet Hamed Allahyari, the founder of Hamed’s Persian Kitchen.
Hamed was born in Iran’s capital, Tehran, migrated to Australia in 2012, and has called Melbourne home since. His life revolves around food and sharing his Persian cultural and culinary heritage with the local community.
Hamed previously ran cooking classes with Free to Feed, a not-for-profit social enterprise cooking school. It was his first paid employment in Melbourne. Thanks to this experience, he was inspired to open up a similar enterprise to empower refugees, asylum seekers, and new migrants facing the same problems he did when he first arrived in Australia.
Salamati cookbook by Hamed
Salamati cookbook by Hamed
Hamed's Persian kitchen; recipes and stories from Iran to the other side of the world