For Nelson chef Jay Clement, moving back home after touring the world was an offer he couldn't refuse.
Jay Clement, Executive Chef at Bar Rosa in Nelson, said being a chef is more than crafting the next dish or what someone can post on their socials. He said it was about being a leader and a mentor.
He said this was important to maintain every day, not just on the good days when the customers are flowing in and out with smiles and laughs, but every day.
“You might not have slept and winter is settling in, bookings are slim and morale drops, but you are the one who has to bring the fire,” said Chef Clement.
Even when battling constant hurdles like juggling food cost, staff cost, seasonal menu challenges, rosters, specials, staff training, or cleaning schedules, he wouldn’t trade his career for the world.
His first job in the kitchen began washing dishes as an after school job so he could have a little bit of spending money. He then fell in love with the industry.
“It was the hardest thing I had ever done, the fire, the knives, the passion. I found my first cook's role in a restaurant in Richmond under a chef trained by Marco Pierre White, this was even harder.”
From here it was an uphill battle for Clement, working and staging in any restaurant he could get into. Then, his first big break came when he was hired as Sous Chef at Urban Oyster Bar. He said he was young and thought he knew everything, and after two years, he was running the place.
Four years on, Clement knew he had to move on or get left behind. So he moved to Auckland, where he gathered new skills at every corner. He worked as some of the city’s most acclaimed restaurants, including Gochu, Pasture, Culprit and Vondel, but he wanted more.
He set his sights on Toronto, where he could experience different cultures and cuisines that New Zealand didn’t have. He found himself working in the heart of Toronto’s food scene, such as Prime Seafood Palace, the flagship restaurant of Canadian chef Matty Matheson.
He said this was a big eye opener for what a restaurant can achieve with the right systems and support in place.
He recently moved back home to Nelson, which he described as a welcome change of pace.
“I can’t wait to see what what we can achieve at the newly opened Bar Rosa.”
Some of Bar Rosa’s stand out menu items are beef cheek fazzoletti, porchetta, and its honey butter tart with ricotta salata gelato, inspired by his time in Canada where a maple butter tart reins supreme.
The restaurant consists of various key features, like a wood-fired pizza oven, a charcoal Josper grill and its use of animal fats or olive oil for cooking. Steering away from seed oils is a personal philosophy of Chef Clement.
“We are still new to the market in Nelson, but I believe all our house-made products will speak for themselves, from pasta made fresh every morning to our house-cured guanciale. Also, we have kept our produce locally sourced and free range.”
Clement said he was very lucky that Nelson has such a strong local support for restaurants. He said summers and travellers may come and go, but it’s local customers who will brave a cold, windy night in the dead of winter to come and support local businesses.
“Enjoying a nice meal and a bottle has always been the backbone of Nelson.”
His goal for Bar Rosa has been to create a warm and welcoming space where anyone can come to enjoy, taste, and be inspired.
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