Jonathan Brincat

Conversation with a chef: Hi Jonathan, how are you?

Jonathan Brincat: Hi, I’m feeling good in Melbourne. I’m enjoying the city, enjoying the food culture here.

Is this your first time to Melbourne?

The first time to Melbourne, yes.

I wanted to start with positioning you. I know that you’re known often by your nickname, Noni. Can you tell me the story about where that came from and how it has entered into your career as well?

Actually, it came from Australia. My grandfather, his proper name was Arone. When he came here to work, because he used to come to Australia, go back, come and go back, obviously they abbreviated his name to Noni. Then when he settled back in Malta, they had a grocery first and he opened a household shop, and the name was Noni. We call it Casa Bottega. You have the shop at the front and the house at the back. All of us kids, cousins and so on, we used to always run around in the shop, help wherever we could. In my town and everywhere, everyone didn’t know our name. So, yes, you’re Noni. And when I started my first job, the head chef knew a bit about my family, and said, alright, Jonathan, you’re Noni. And it stuck. I went to an interview once for a job and they saw my CV and said, no, this is not yours, this is Jonathan Brincat. I said, yes, that’s me. But you’re Noni. That’s my nickname. When it came to opening my own restaurant, the name just created itself. My grandfather didn’t have the shop anymore at that time, but I always said that one of the rules, if I have a name for whatever restaurant I have, it’s going to be a four-letter word. So it really fits in. It’s part of our DNA nowadays and everyone still knows us. My father, he was Noni, so all my family is.

I love that. It’s so nice. And it’s got such a cosy feel to it, even though it’s a fine dining restaurant.

Yes, but although we’re a fine dining restaurant, it’s still quite cosy. From our food to our service, it’s like stepping into a Maltese family home.

Amazing. And just to keep on that family link for a while, I know that you grew up on the flavours of your mother and grandmother’s cooking. Can you tell me a bit about some early childhood memories of food?

We have always been around food. I grew up in the 80s, early 90s, so restaurants were a treat. You’re not going to go out even during lunchtime. Mothers, grandmothers, all the women, most of them didn’t work at that time. They would go shopping early in the morning and there was always a pot going on, mainly for lunch and then another one for dinner. You would have a soup going on and something else, but mainly I was growing up eating homemade food. Being out at a restaurant was a treat and most probably you would go for a pizza. I think I had my first steak when I was 12 or 13. You see the ingredients, you’re running there in the kitchen, seeing how they’re doing the pasta, watching them season. If any fish came in and they’re doing some fish soup with the bycatch, then the main meal would be fried fish or whatever is going on. I used to pick on those things ,and they are imprinted in my memory. When I see a dish or I’m preparing a dish, it comes from that memory. The flavours and smells I was brought up with, I try to re-encapsulate that for other people.

So, having that strong family background in food, what drew you to hospitality? When did you know that you wanted to be a chef?

I think it’s the only thing in life that I always knew I wanted to do. When I was eight or nine, someone in my family got ill and my mum had to go to the hospital. They left my cousin with me, he’s the same age. I told him, today we’re going to do pastry things, and we’re going to sell them. Sausage rolls and so on. The final result was a big mess in the kitchen. We ate what we produced, and I got scolded by my mum. But I always knew I wanted to cook. It’s my way of showing love to people. It’s my way of expressing myself.

And early in your career you travelled, lived in other countries, Australia, Asia and London. What did you take from those experiences?

I took a lot, but it made me realise how often we didn’t take care of our cuisine or weren’t proud of it. How low we thought about our cuisine. While I was doing food that others created, I thought I can use this method to do that kind of sauce better or represent that fish. I was in London and I cut a tomato and it smelled and tasted like water. Back home, if you cut a tomato, it smells like summer, like soil, like leaves. I was like, wait, why cannot I do it myself? That was how the DNA of the restaurant was built. I didn’t want to do French classical or fusion. It wouldn’t have been me. I wanted to tell my own story in my own country with the produce we have on the island.

When did you realise you were ready to go back to Malta?

I was away almost five years. I went back, opened a restaurant for someone else, but then by time you start craving putting down roots somewhere. I knew I could have opened a restaurant anywhere and it would have been easier. Fine dining is not always well accepted by locals. So I started slowly. The restaurant evolved. It wasn’t as refined as today. Funnily enough, that was my misconception. As soon as we opened, we had a great response from locals. They would say, my grandmother used to do this, you brought me that memory. Something that was frowned upon became something cool. Once I had people coming through the door, that was the main aim. It’s a business. Sometimes chefs forget that. You can love it, but if people aren’t coming, it won’t sustain. I was very diplomatic. Let’s start with baby steps and refine every day. Now it’s unrecognisable from what we were doing, but we built trust. Some people dropped off as it became more refined, but others joined. You need to build strong roots first.

You’ve mentioned tradition and refinement. Can you tell me about some specific dishes? What does ‘new’ Maltese look like?

New Maltese is something we created. If someone asks what is your cuisine, it’s new Maltese. Take a soup with tomatoes, beans, legumes. Instead of serving it like that, I cook the same thing but make it into a consommé. I cook the beans separately, place them nicely, add herbs, make them appealing. Then the consommé is filtered, strengthened, maybe with white soy instead of salt. We’re using different techniques to refine it. It’s not 100% authentic. Even in Malta, every family makes things differently. It’s our version, what brings memory to us. 

When you’re planning your menu, where do you start?

Always produce. Produce comes first and flavour. Then you have a core memory. Around Easter you’ll have lamb. I remember a dish like my mum used to do, similar to moussaka. Then you build, you start R&D. A new dish takes two to three months to finalise.

How often do you change the menu?

Quite often. We have four seasons, but the summer period is quite long and is the hardest for us because, vegetable-wise, nothing much grows apart from the usual suspects, like tomatoes, peppers and so on. We went back to what our grandmothers used to do so. When you have a time of abundance, you’re going to put this out for time when you don’t have so much. So let’s say if we get globe artichokes that are now till March or mid-April. We will clean them, preserve them, and use them at a later stage with fresh tuna, which is in season, with pickled or confit or preserved or fermented globe artichokes. We didn’t invent that, we just went back to what our parents, grandparents used to do. We’re using the same idea, but with better machinery, better techniques, better knowledge. 

The first time Michelin came over to Malta, I was one of the first three restaurants to get the star. It adds pressure but then it’s like every other thing. The buzz and the adrenaline is so good that if I have one, why cannot I have two? So, you’re always trying to push yourself to be better, but you must never forget, you’re not cooking for the guide. You are cooking for the customers every single day. Those are your guides. You have 26 to 28 customers who are your inspectors every single day. People tend to do things like put caviar on a dish and so on, but no, just do your own thing, your own identity, and keep on sticking to what you do best.

Jonathan Brincat, Noni

You’ve held a Michelin star for six years. Was that important, that recognition?

I worked in Michelin star kitchens around the world, and obviously, it was always a dream to have a Michelin star. It was almost inaccessible because we never thought they would come to Malta. There were always talks that Michelin might come, they might not. But as soon as we heard they were coming, you think, it would be nice to have a star and then you have all this chit chat about who might get a star. There was a fine dining restaurant and everyone thought that they would get the star. I wasn’t even expecting it that much. I knew that we were doing a good job when it comes to flavours and so on, but the thing with Michelin is, you never know exactly what. what you’re being judged on. The first time they came over to Malta, I was one of the first three restaurants to get the star. It adds pressure but then it’s like every other thing. The buzz and the adrenaline is so good that if I have one, why cannot I have two? So, you’re always trying to push yourself to be better, but you must never forget, you’re not cooking for the guide. You are cooking for the customers every single day. Those are your guides. You have 26 to 28 customers who are your inspectors every single day. People tend to do things like put caviar on a dish and so on, but no, just do your own thing, your own identity, and keep on sticking to what you do best.

With that pressure, can you still get joy from cooking?

Luckily, yes. There were times where I went a bit off track, but nowadays I’ve come to this conclusion, pressure is how much you put on yourself. I love cooking. I don’t love the administration part of the restaurant. I hope my sister is not hearing this because she does most of the work. But I love being in the kitchen. I love being around produce. I love being in markets. I love meeting fishermen. I love meeting people who are talk about food, I love everything related to food. I love tasting, smelling. With all of that with me in the kitchen, we’re going to create, we’re going to push on. I love infecting the people around me with these ideas, with this enthusiasm. Some days can be hard, and you’re not enjoying it. It’s very hard work at the end of the day, but then you look at what you did, what we managed to do. Something broke during service, we’re only human, and sometimes you just want to throw everything in the air and leave home. But at the end of the day, you come back another day and it’s going to be easier. So, yes, I love it with all my heart.

Now you’re here in Melbourne for the Food and Wine Festival. You said you’re bringing Noni to Maha?

Yes, but with Australian ingredients. Australia is strict with at the border. So I’m transforming what I would serve at the restaurant using Australian produce. I’m blown away by the quality. I have help from Shane and Maha. He has Maltese knowledge. I hope people get a small taste of Malta and want to visit.

What do you hope diners take away?

A nice memory. And that they know what Malta is. Many people don’t know where it is. We have our own language, our own cuisine. I want them to take a piece of Noni home.

And when chefs collaborate in another kitchen, how do you adapt to that new space, that kitchen flow?

First thing is respect. You see how the kitchen runs. I focus on flavours, plating. Then you split roles with the team. You run the service together.

Chefs are similar everywhere. We’re all produce driven. We want to make guests happy. We adapt quickly. You have to think fast.

Thank you. I’m coming to one of your dinners and I can’t wait.

Noni, Valleta, Malta.