TABLE FOR TWO: Episode 28: Meet Ibby Moubadder

Meet Ibby Moubadder Ibby grew up in Lebanon, Beirut and like most teenagers loved the life he was living. But after the war in 2006 he knew it was time to get out to help create a better future for himself and his family. He moved to Australia in 2007 to study nursing with dreams of one day being a doctor. Without knowing a word of English, and with no friends or family other then his Aunty, he went on to graduate from university with a bachelor of nursing. After working as a nurse for several years he decided the only way he could afford to continue to study to become a doctor was to open a business that could give him a passive income to help support him during his studies. With no experience in business or hospitality he approached his friend and asked if they would invest in a site in Newtown. A few months later he opened his first cafe in Newtown called Cuckoo Calley. Over the next few years he would open a fine dining Lebanese restaurant called Nour. This has changed the way people think about lebanese food. He then opened other businesses called Cuckoo Calley cafe, a chicken shop called Henrietta and Lilymu, a contemporary pan Asian restaurant, all receiving amazing reviews from Sydney’s best publications, But he isn’t finished just yet. In August this year he opens his biggest restaurant in Sydney called Aalia. One of the most impressive things about Ibby has been his ability to keep opening high quality restaurants without compromising the high standard that he sets for all of his venues. When asking him the secret he says it all comes down to finding the right people and resilience. Although he has had many struggles in business he says nothing will ever be as bad as the things he witnessed in Lebanon during the war.