Fine dining at a distance.

In response to the shutdown, Shane Delia launched Maha Go, take-home meals that can be picked up from his CBD restaurant or home delivered. Image: Supplied.

In mid-March, as the COVID-19 pandemic started to make an impact on Australian shores, Melbourne chef Shane Delia shut the doors on his Middle Eastern restaurants Maha, Maha East and Maha Bar. At the time, Delia estimated he’d need to close his venues for about five weeks. It quickly became apparent that it would be for much longer.
 

“When I found out we could be closed for up to six months, I thought, ‘Okay, well let’s find a way to make a diamond out of this piece of coal’,” says Delia, a Mercedes-Benz Friend of the Brand. In April, he launched Maha Go, restaurant-quality take-home meals that customers can either pick up from Maha in the CBD or have delivered within a 25-kilometre radius for a flat $14 fee.
 

Customers order online from a menu that changes weekly, and can choose dishes such as Maha’s signature 800g slow-roasted lamb shoulder served with steamed beans and a choice of side salad; baked salmon with walnut and pomegranate tabouleh; or sticky roasted cauliflower with harissa and preserved lemon chermoula. Many of the dishes require some cooking or assembly on the part of the customer to ensure they’re at peak freshness and deliciousness, although some are designed to simply heat and serve.

By Anna Webster