To really get an idea about the kind of food Emma Jeffrey puts up, go to 's Instagram account. Like me, you'll be hooked. Beautiful, thoughtful, delicious food.
Emma, I came across you through Instagram and those beautiful pictures of your plated food for the new menu here. So I did a bit of investigation and you do a lot. You've worked in lots of places.
Yes I do. I think I get bored very easily and I feel as though if I move a lot I learn as well. I do have my own restaurant in the city, The Moat Bar and Restaurant and I worked there full time for two years. I was addicted and couldn’t let go so I had to step out for a little bit. It was breakfast, lunch and dinner so I was doing 20 hour days. I needed to get out of the restaurant scene. I’d been in it for about 15 years.
My background is with George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan, Raymond Capaldi. I literally worked like a dog for a solid 15 years and then I tried to get out of that and tried to do a bit of café work and I don’t think I can go back to the restaurant. It’s too hard. There’s no life balance.
I think nowadays it seems as though a lot of restaurant chefs still want to be doing really great food and cafes have evolved to the point where they are serving that level of food. It’s a challenge though, isn’t it, because you can’t charge the same as restaurants; you have to keep it at café prices.
I think that’s the biggest challenge. You want to do all this crazy stuff and be creative but you need to keep it low cost as well. But it all comes down to keeping it balanced. I do think that people are choosing lifestyle over working. Plus you can get more money working in a café.
I didn’t know that. That’s interesting.
The better places you work, the less money you get, basically.
Why is that?
Because of the cost. A fine dining restaurant has more chefs in the kitchen so then you have to pay them less because you’ve got one person doing three dishes only because what they are doing is so intricate and detailed. That’s why.
That’s crazy.
It is crazy.
But we are expecting that high level and paying top dollar as consumers but the chefs aren’t getting that. So really then you just do it for the love?
Basically. It’s a bit sad.
Why did you become a chef in the first place?
I used to help my mum a lot in the kitchen. I finished school and I wanted to work straightaway. I didn’t want to do Uni or anything like that so I ended up kitchen-handing and then got into the kitchen. I got offered an apprenticeship and that was it. I think I got offered my apprenticeship when I was 17 – 18. I haven’t looked back. I’m originally from Daylesford and I did a couple of years with Annie Smithers.
Oh I love Annie.
She’s awesome. I worked with her at the Lavender Farm. We baked all our own breads, we picked our fruit and vegetables and basically designed the menu around what was growing at the time and in season. I learned a lot from her.
Then I needed to broaden my horizon so I moved to Melbourne and then I started at Matteo’s when it was an Italian restaurant and two hats. I was there for about three years. From there I went to Fenix and worked with Gary Mehigan , George came on board then because he was at the Sofitel and then George and I opened a place called Reserve which was in Federation Square. We got two hats for that in six months which is almost unknown. That was a really good experience. I was sous chef there. George and I are the same age, so we followed each other until I went my own way and tried to get into the café scene…well, tried to get my head around the café scene. Cafes at that time seemed like a down step. But now it’s not.
I was talking about it with another chef. It’s a bit like back in the day movie stars were bigger than tv stars but now everyone wants to get into tv shows.
Exactly. So that’s it. The rest is history. I need to move a lot. I consult a little bit as well, which I’d really like to get into full time. I like helping people set up restaurants and cafes. There are a lot of people out there who don’t know what they’re doing. They can’t find chefs. That’s probably the hardest thing.
That’s what everyone says; that there’s a real shortage of good chefs.
There’s too much choice now too. Apparently 135 cafes opened last week in Melbourne.
That’s crazy. How can we sustain that?
It’s not sustainable. They open and as many close.
Hospitality is a lovely idea. But you really do need to know what you’re doing. When you come to a new place, like Mr and Mrs Anderson, how do you go about designing the menu?
James hired me because he wanted me to come in and do something a bit different. But you do have to look at the clientele as well. Around here there are schools and upper class rich families; young families, but also older. They all want healthy. I try and keep it balanced. I try to keep something a bit weird on the menu but something really mainstream as well. I keep the flavours really fresh.
People like to know what they are reading as well. A lot of people don’t like to ask questions so they go for the easy options. I try and keep it simple as far as the wording goes. But then it’s a bit different and there’s a wow factor. Rather than it just being salmon and greens, it has some different elements. I think you have to look around and see what people want and what they order.
I tend to steer away from what everyone is doing and maybe try and start a trend rather than follow a trend.
Do you follow other chefs?
Yes. I do. I follow a lot. I get a lot of inspiration from other chefs. I do a lot of reading. I tend to steer away from what everyone is doing and maybe try and start a trend rather than follow a trend.
That’s an interesting idea. How do you do that? I guess to start something new, you have to be aware of what is already out there and anticipate what might be the next wave.
My secret is that I’m constantly reading and seeing what’s out there in other states and other countries. I find that New York City is very much up there. They are about five years ahead of us as far as ideas go. They’re backwards with the coffee though.
It’s all Australians who have opened cafes over there serving good coffee.
You have to see what people are doing out there in different worlds and change it up.
Will you always stay in a food-related industry?
I think so. I really don’t know anything better. I’ve been doing this for 21 years now.
What would you say to young people wanting to get into the industry?
I would say, go and learn as much as possible in the best places you can work. That’s probably the best. You can learn bad tricks very early on and they can stick with you. Definitely getting a lot of experience is good. I’m not saying move around every six months, but ask as many questions as you can. Try not to wing it, learn the product, learn the dishes, learn the flavours.
Do you ever stop learning?
Never. You can learn what you need to in a certain section or venue then you need to move on to keep learning. Definitely get as much experience as you can.
398 Tooronga Road, Hawthorn East