She was raised in a Lebanese household, by a single mother of two. Unlike your ‘typical ethnic mum’, she didn’t quite give Taghrid a head start on her cooking journey. In fact, her mother strictly didn’t allow any help in the kitchen. For many years, Taghrid was left observing and learning from a distance. It wasn’t until her late teenage years that she was given the green light by her mother to participate in the household kitchen chores, like peeling a potato.

Slowly but surely, Taghrid inherited from her mother the art of traditional Lebanese cooking and the thrive and passion for it, simply by watching her effortlessly and gracefully own the kitchen. Her eyes would be drawn to how her mother transformed the simplest leftover ingredients into the most lavish and eye-pleasing classic Arabic dishes. Her mother’s passion for cooking could be tasted in every bite, which really ignited Taghrid’s love for the kitchen from a young age.

In 2008, Taghrid married her best friend Harun, famously known in the community as Babaghanouj or Baba G. Together they have four beautiful boys named Taha, Musa, Issa and Omar – all of whom have very happy tummies!

It might be hard to believe, but in her first year of marriage, Taghrid was hopelessly inept at cooking, with plenty of burnt dishes, mushy rice, and overly salted food (giving plenty of hope to the rest of us). Truth be told, this didn’t dampen her spirits or ever stop her from pursuing her passion.

Since her husband is of Turkish origin, Taghrid experimented with ingredients that complimented his culture as well as hers. While merging those two cuisines together, she was able to discover new flavours, enhance her skills, and invent exotic dishes with a modern twist.

Taghrid officially kick-started her culinary and food blogging journey when she was motivated by her family and friends to start publicly sharing her recipes on her Instagram page. She was quite apprehensive and hesitant at first, but she received enough motivation to just go ahead and do it.

In 2017 ‘Mamaghanouj Kitchen’ was launched, a name she was inspired to use after she served a rustic version of her all-time favourite Arabic dish – ‘Babaghanouj’. Her husband and sister enjoyed the dish so much that they referred to it as ‘Mamaghanouj’ instead. Soon after a lightbulb moment occurred. They suggested for her to use the name Mamaghanouj for her Instagram blog. Well, Mamaghanouj it was! It wasn’t long before it blossomed into a brand that is widely recognized nationally and internationally as one of the best of its kind.

Through her blog, Taghrid continues to help thousands of women, particularly newly-weds and mothers feel empowered in the kitchen. Her candid and refreshing approach to cooking makes women feel like they have a supportive best friend alongside as their cooking companion.

In addition to her blogging journey over the years, Taghrid successfully featured in numerous publications including the front cover of the Muslimahs in Business first ever digital magazine, AMUST newspaper, Lifestyle Food Australia, Getty Images and Syrup Media Aus & also received the 'Peoples Choice' award at The Australian Muslim Achievement Awards whom was voted by the community in 2022 which is hosted annually & aims to acknowledge respected community individuals.

She also appeared on a segment with Recipes for Ramadan, taught at The Culinary School and was a proud recipient of an award in 2021 from Community Care Kitchen for her outstanding service to the Community.

Taghrid is incredibly proud of all her positive achievements throughout the many years of her ‘Mamaghanouj Kitchen’ journey.

It has been very fulfilling for her to teach others how to cook and preserve her Lebanese roots with food.