When restaurants get things right, they can become long-running cultural institutions with the ability to take on personalities, grow reputations and create expectations. When Jason Staudt first joined Stokehouse as executive chef in 2019, there was always going to be the initial push-pull of established and new ideas.
“When I first moved to Melbourne [from Sydney], I didn’t know much about Stokehouse and how embedded it was into its hospitality history,” says Staudt. “For me, a venue always needs a refresh after five years, whether it’s a menu or dining room.”
Stokehouse first opened in 1989, was destroyed by fire in 2014 and then reopened in 2016. Staudt’s balancing act has been in maintaining its grand tradition – classy dining with a seafood focus – while bringing it into a new era. As executive chef, that has meant some big changes to the menu.
“The Stokehouse bomb, their famous dessert, we finally took off the printed menu – same with the fish and chips,” says Staudt. “I think it should be about premium seafood. Those days have gone, I think – we’re pushing Stokehouse into its next chapter.”
Creating new impressions
The new Stokehouse is rich with Staudt’s influence.
“A big belief we have around here is less is more, or outwardly simple and inwardly complex,” says Staudt. “While something may take a lot of work to get there, on the plate it looks quite simple and it eats really nicely. I would say that’s my style.”
Staudt’s dishes are understated, allowing great produce – from suppliers such as Ramarro Farm – to do the talking.
“I like to use underutilised things to make dishes pop,” says Staudt. “For example, fennel blossoms are one of my favourite ingredients. They’re lightly pickled but just bring such a nice pop and lightness to a dish. I love raw pumpkin or zucchini, things that people don’t usually eat raw, just to bring lightness.”
The impression of time and place
When conceptualising the menu, Staudt is thinking about more than just flavour – ideas are rooted in relationship to the restaurant.
“A big one for me is time and place,” says Staudt. “That’s how I focus on creativity. Like, does this look good here? Does this look good with everything else on the menu? Sometimes there’s an amazing dish but I don’t think it fits with what we’re doing or our ethos.”
Despite this consideration, new impressions can be hard to swallow for some long-time diners.
“There was some pushback from a certain type of guest who had been coming here for a while, but I think we won them over,” says Staudt.
The influence of sustainability
Staudt says it’s increasingly important to make conscious choices from the kitchen to the table – an expectation he finds to be shared by diners.
“Nowadays it’s important, especially for the next generation,” says Staudt.“We try to use sustainable products, sustainable fisheries, sustainable meats. It doesn’t make the menu unless they’re doing the right thing, and that’s kind of what you pay for.”
Stokehouse’s own sustainable rebuild (awarded a five-star rating from the Green Building Council Australia) influenced Staudt’s decision to join the long-standing restaurant.
“[A saying] I often use is, ‘Be a part of the solution, not part of the problem’,” he says. “You choose your path. A lot of people are more consciously choosing that.”
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