Behind the Scenes of Merak

A reflection on storytelling, food, and style

Merak was born in quiet kitchens and noisy streets. It grew out of family tables, conversations over coffee, and the rhythm of kitchens where culture is passed down through food. At its heart, it’s a project about sincerity — the way food, fashion, and story come together to say something true about who we are.

Behind the camera, Merak is less polished production, more lived experience. Episodes begin not with scripts but with people: a grandmother rolling gnocchi, a neighbour shaping butter, a friend breaking in a jacket. What ties them together is an attention to the small things — the imperfections, the laughter, the pauses that tell more than a line of dialogue ever could. Food, of course, is a central thread. Not as recipe, but as memory. A dish holds history, migration, survival, and joy. Sharing it on screen is about more than flavour — it’s about showing where culture breathes, and how it continues in kitchens across Melbourne and beyond.

Style plays its own role. Workwear, streetwear, editorial frames — these are the textures of Merak. The aesthetic is intentional but never forced, stripped back to earthy tones and real environments. The goal is not to dress food in glamour, but to let it sit naturally within the world it comes from. Storytelling is where it all converges. Each frame is edited with patience: cutting between family homes, laneways, and fleeting details of everyday life. Merak values honesty over perfection. The editing process is about finding that honesty — the moment someone laughs at their own mistake, the way light falls across a table, the voice of a relative telling a story you didn’t expect to hear.

This is what Merak offers: not a show, but a conversation. A chance to sit at the table, to listen, to watch, and to remember that culture isn’t something curated in galleries or magazines. It’s lived in kitchens, streets, and family moments. Merak simply gives it room to breathe.