Enushu Taye

Ethiomama aka Eneshu Taye has been a chef for 17 years. She is the owner of the Horn of Africa restaurant in Collingwood, Melbourne.

She carries the spirit of Africa in all of her essence, her cooking, her music, her dance and her entire life philosophy. This African spirit is all about connection! To yourself and each other and our Mother Earth.

Eneshu has a truly remarkable story!

She came to Australia 28 years ago and is grateful to call Melbourne home.

When Eneshu initially came 28 years ago, there wasn’t much of an Ethiopian community or knowledge of the culture, traditions, and cuisine. She saw this as an opportunity to share with Australia, her culture, her tradition, and heritage, through food, music and kindness. This was Eneshu’s way to reciprocate the kindness she felt as she was welcomed to Australia. She is a true pillar of community, the magnetic gravitational force of love that brings people together.

In January 2023 Eneshu endured a life-threatening health complication, a brain bleed. She was in the ICU for 10 days. This seriously impacted her capacity, and the world she used to know, felt like it was completely gone.

The world where she’s the lead singer of a successful Ethio Jazz band, Black Jesus Experience, a chef and owner of a bustling Ethiopian restaurant, a mother of two, a pillar of her community just seemed to disappear. She had to stop and slow down and take a break from being a chef and a musician.

As hard as this period was, it was a moment of clarity that gave Eneshu the time and space to truly connect with her own self, start her healing, and find ways to come back to herself.

This led to the realisation, that whilst she may no longer be a chef that stands on her feet for 12 hours a day in her restaurant, she can still honour her creativity and passion for cooking, by creating recipes and bringing wholesome and healthy food and spices to the world.

This moment of clarity was her own rebirth and simultaneously the birth of Dilih (Eneshu’s signature paste spice) and all its goodness into the world and onto the market.

To Eneshu, Dilih means so many things:

• A symbol of her rebirth, of getting back into being a chef, and nurturing and healing the world through food

• Sharing the richness of her tradition and culture through healing foods and spices

• Leaving a legacy into this world and her signature loving essence

When you experience the taste of Dilih and all of Eneshu’s creations, you don’t just experience a delicious spice or food. You experience the spirit of Ethiomama, the soul of Ethiopia and the richness of one of the oldest cultures in the world. Dilih is also packed with anti-inflammatory, immune system boosters, Eneshu has perfected this paste over 17 years! Eneshu uses Dilih and its healing properties on daily basis herself and it has very much been a part of her own healing journey.

Today, a year and a half after her world was turned upside down by health complications, Eneshu’s spirit is stronger than ever. She recently performed at the WOMAD festival in Adelaide, did a cooking show there too, and continues to honour her passions and her soul’s essence, in a more authentic way than ever! Her journey is truly remarkable, a real-life phoenix rising from the ashes. She is a true inspiration for us all and her message is:

No matter how much hardship you endure in your life, and no matter what life throws at you, you can still dust yourself off and start again!

She encourages us to never give up and always honour our passion and be grateful for the offerings of life. This includes hardship because we learn from it.

Today Eneshu will show us how to cook with Dilih and share some wholesome traditional Ethiopian recipes with us.