Maria Assatourian, founder of Roar Living™, has had a passion for food and fresh produce since she was very young. Helping her parents in their earthly garden, those tiny little hands carefully sowing the miracle of seeds for the imminent promise of harvesting the goodness and bounty that mother nature gifts. 

Life began in Iran for Maria where the kitchen was, and still is, the soul of the home. It was there that she first discovered just how much she loved the food, aromas, traditions and customs of her homeland and heartland.

 

 

Her career as a chef turned her passion into a career that started with an apprenticeship under award winning chef Neil Perry at Rockpool  and then with Damien Pignolet at Bistro Moncur. This was followed by stints with Colin Holt and Matthew Flemming. She bookended her career in the role of sous chef at the 'White Horse Inn' in historic Berrima.

 

 

When Maria started a family it was utmost importance to feed her precious children the very best she knew how and to inspire those surrounding her with those tiny shifts that make a big difference to the health, well being and wellness of our little people.

 

 

Around 2012, Maria decided to bring about a positive change in the marketplace, to produce all-natural products that supports the welfare and wellness of everyone. A product that is healthy, affordable, wholesome and an Australian made alternative. Roar's packaging reflects the love and respect of Earth's beauty. Using glass bottles which easily are re-usable or recyclable, minimising ecological impact and footprints.

 

 

Maria had always loved the Middle Eastern custom of offering your guests 'sharbat'', a delicious, thirst-quenching refreshment having its genesis in ancient times where it was served to revivify the traveller weary from the oppressive desert heat.

 

 

In a nod to her Iranian heritage and with her years in the kitchen adding to her knowledge, Assatourian was inspired to create a delicious range of jewel-hued cordials, her own version of  'sharbat'. 

 

 

'Sharbat' traces its roots back to the 10th century where Persia's Renaissance man, Doctor Avicenna, listed the medicinal benefits of the drink in his books 'The Canon of Medicine' and 'Book of Healing'. These elixirs were made from seeds, herbs, flowers and fruit.

 

Here on the sunny Gold Coast, Maria meticulously laid the foundations for what was to become the fabulous and fruity Roar Living™ that we know and love today, while simultaneously keeping alive the traditions of those who came before her.

 

 

The Roar Living™ range is made fresh from Australian produce and is wholly manufactured in Australia, overseen from start to finish under the watchful eye of Maria.