Stefan Marais of Societi Bistro in Orange Street Cape Town:
Hospitality Jobs Africa: How did you get into working as a chef?
Chef Stefan: I grew up in a “foodie” family, however I always intended to study and have career in finance. Things changes when I went to the UK on a working holiday visa after school. My first job through an agency there happened to be as an apprentice commis chef job in a hotel, and that is how it all started. I worked at the Riviera Hotel in Sidmouth, Devon http://www.hotelriviera.co.uk for two years which is a four star hotel with a Rosette for its fine food. Here, the kitchen was full of international chefs: English, French and Italian who had a great influence on my cooking style. I have never looked back, and would not consider doing anything else but being a chef.
Hospitality Jobs: Did you get to experience much of European cuisine whilst you were there?
Chef Stefan: Yes, after I finished working, I travelled around the EU and went to countries such as Switzerland, Germany, France and Austria sampling the traditional foods of those countries.
Hospitality Jobs: So what happened in your chef career when you returned to South Africa?
Chef Stefan: When I returned to South Africa, I got offered a position by Grant Cullingworth at Table Bay Hotel. I learned a great deal there, including what it takes to run a kitchen in a large 5* hotel. For young chefs, it is really important to keep broadening culinary horizons, and therefore when I took leave, I would go and work in different kitchens to gain a wide range of experience. One of these kitchens was Restaurant Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road. That was quite an experience, working long hours in a highly stressed environment.
In total, I was at Table Bay Hotel for two years, and then went on to work in various Cape Town restaurants, including a year at the Mount Nelson Hotel under chef Ian Mancais.
Hospitality Jobs: When did you join Societi Bistro?
Chef Stefan: I joined Societi Bistro in September 2008. It was then in the V & A Waterfront, and was going to be relocating to Orange Street. I assisted Peter Weetman, the owner, and the management team in rebuilding the place from being a call centre into a restaurant, working 20 hours a day to get it to where we needed the restaurant to be. When we opened we brought regulars with us from the V&A shop, and had a really good first summer’s trade doing 100 covers a day with about 160 on weekends.
Hospitality Jobs Africa: How do you run your kitchen?
Chef Stefan: I am very hands on usually work on a section for one of the shifts in a day and float around for the other. Everybody in the kitchen knows exactly what is expected of them and take their responsibilities seriously, as long as everybody sticks to the recipies and put in the effort, we have a fun and relaxed atmosphere in the kitchen. Service is always a big team effort where everybody pulls together, and Jaryd Sparg (who trained at 95 Keerom and has spent the last three years in Britain), my sous chef is a very reliable back up. We are currently training up a 17 year old apprentice commis chef as well as a college student who wants to train as a chef.
Hospitality Jobs: So what is your advice to young chefs thinking of getting into a job as a chef?
Chef Stefan: Get hands-on practical experience in a kitchen. Study part-time. Speak to your head chef and get advice and information constantly. All kitchens are different in terms of their dedication to training, but most head chefs will take the time to train those who have ability and passion. You need to have true passion to work in the hospitality industry as there are long hours and it is not the best paid, but it does pay back in terms of job satisfaction. Read the books of the great chefs who have gone before you.
Hospitality Jobs Africa: What inspires your menus and cooking style?
Chef Stefan: Our menus and specials change every day to keep things fresh. For lunch, we have an “On the Job” menu with 2 starter options and 3 main courses for R70. Our winter menu which we are running at the moment, is based on “A Tour through France”. Traditional French style cooking lends itself to great hearty winter food. We stick to old style slow cooking principles (we have no microwave in the kitchen!). French cooking uses a lot of cream and butter bases however I change these slightly to cater for the more modern healthier clientele. We make classic dishes using a lot of slow braising and a great deal of care goes into each dish.
In summer our menus draw more from Italian style cooking which is lighter using olive oil and white wine bases, rather than cream and butter.
And, of course we only using seasonal products wherever possible, especially those that are grown locally. This not only ensure the freshest ingredients in all our meals, but also reduces carbon miles as we are environmentally conscious.
Hospitality Jobs: And what is Chef Stef reading at the moment?
Chef Stefan: I subscribe to various gourmet websites for RSS feed. I am also reading Peter Mayle’s A Year in Province and The Meat Book by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. I also love “Dear Francesca” by Mary Contini. It is part cookery book and part storytelling giving the history of an Italian family wrapped up in Italian food and the simple reasoning behind it.
Hospitality Jobs: What other chefs inspire you?
Chef Stefan: I like Anthony Bourdain – he doesn’t mess about with food, and Raymond Blanc’s traditional cooking. Locally I have always had great food at Laurent’s Bizerca Bistro.
Hospitality Jobs: What do you eat at home?
Chef Stefan: Ha ha. I don’t really eat at home, except for cereal and anchovy toast, because I spend most of my time in the kitchen tasting various dishes all day long. I think a lot of chefs are like that.
Societi Bistro’s new winter menu starts on July 1 – go in and try it out. It will be well worth the visit.
For Chef Stefan Marais Recipes and more information, go to Hospitality Jobs Africa.
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