Daniel Johnson

Chef Dan Johnson’s culinary skills have taken him around the world, to the restaurants of renowned luxury international resorts including COMO and Jumeriah Hotels across the Maldives, Vanuatu, Bali and Oman, as well as cutting edge restaurants in Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland.

But it was while working at Bunker Bay in WA’s South West when his love for middle eastern food sparked. Dan discovered cookbooks by the pioneer of modern middle eastern cuisine in Australia, Greg Malouf, and a 20-year obsession began.

Dan grew up in Perth after his parents migrated from the UK. After many years working abroad in high end restaurants and resorts, he met his wife Joanna while working for Alila Jabal Akhdar in Oman, and he couple eventually decided to return home to WA. While leasing and operating a successful Mediterranean restaurant in Dunsborough, an opportunity arose to follow Dan’s passion and create a haven for Levantine dining in Busselton. Their love for the layered flavours of the middle east was rekindled.

In November 2023, Inara opened, unveiling a world of flavours that transcends the ordinary and encouraging communing over food with family and friends.

With his extensive exploration of Middle Eastern culinary traditions, Chef Dan is on a mission to elevate forgotten ingredients and create a sensory masterpiece with each enticing dish inspired by the culinary traditions of Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, Israel, Greece, Egypt, Iraq, and the Palestinian territories.