David Rottenberg

Before David and Lisa Rottenberg opened their Adelaide restaurant, Soho, in July 1999, I saw a preview of their menu and wondered where some of the dishes came from. Later on, eating there and talking to the young couple, I began to understand the sense of humour and the background which has a dish called chicken 'toad'. It was in effect, a delicious version of chicken crapaudine, boned, flattened and grilled with a mustard crust.

The menu is sort of classic, with few spices and Asian ingredients but with virtually no French words, except for those that are not worth translating - souffle, crème fraiche, confit, terrine, mousse etc. But I found it hard to place the style until learning that the chef was American and that his main culinary influence was Joachim Splichal, the chef-owner of Patina, the top restaurant in Los Angeles. Splichel had been the youngest sous chef to work under Jacques Maximin at the Hotel Negresco in Nice, and is held in awe by David. Though Patina started less than ten years ago, Splichel has developed a mini-empire with eight bistros trading under his name and a major catering arm. David worked with him for a year and remembers Splichel's intensity and his energy - "he would insist that everything had to be perfect, to be cooked correctly, there was no second best." But not all chefs he has worked for have left such inspiring memories.

After graduating from the University of Richmond, Virginia, with a political science major in 1987, David travelled round Europe, ate very well in Paris, and came home determined to be a chef. He enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America, New York, and was hooked into this crazy profession. Then he chose to go to the other side of the country to get his practical training from the famous French style l'Orangerie restaurant in Los Angeles. He wrote to a number of such establishments. The going rate for newcomers seemed to be from $3.50-$5 per hour, this was in 1990 and the working conditions were as mean as the wage.

David describes the verbal and physical abuse pretty succinctly, but working close to the chef meant that he learnt a lot even whilst being kicked about. Despite wanting to learn also from the doyenne of baking, Nancy LaBrera, he couldn't afford the wage, so after graduating from the Institute he went to work as a line cook in Dallas at The Riviera Restaurant. The term 'line cook' is particular to the American kitchen. It describes both the layout of the equipment and the division of responsibility. There will be chefs doing just grills, others just pan work, others steaming, baking, roasting etc. all along one line and without much communication from one end to the other. This means that they are subject to their own timing and food may be plated and left under hot lights either to be picked up by waiters when they are ready or, in more sophisticated kitchens, to be co-ordinated by a caller or by the head chef.

In the French kitchen the chefs work round an island of equipment (encompassing all of the above methods) with all dishes then being dispatched to a central 'pass' under the supervision of the head chef. The two systems are completely different and the role of the head chef much stronger under the French system. I guess that one advantage of the American model is that the cooks can avoid some of the kicks and the supervision of the chef autocrat. Though David was quick to explain that as the style of chef behaviour he encountered in his first kitchen is no longer considered acceptable in the US, some places demand that their employees sign contracts agreeing to certain outlawed work practices.

No kitchen was as tough as his first stint, but David tried out a few round the country before going back to California to work as a private chef for a Beverly Hills couple. Here he did it all: the shopping, the menus, the cooking and the staffing. He had to cater for dinners and functions for up to 500 people, including members of the United States President's cabinet, and "heaps of celebrities". He did this for four years and learnt pretty much what he wanted to do as his own chef.

David met and married Lisa and together they returned to her native Adelaide where they opened their restaurant in July, 1999. It's important for the culinary growth of the city that the couple have chosen to open Soho in Adelaide. David would love to see the business develop and allow him to expand, employ and teach more staff. Currently there are just two in his kitchen - pastry chef Teresa Shaw who did her apprenticeship at Adelaide's Jarmers, and Chad Morgan, whom David is training. "I guess he is the sous chef, in a small kitchen titles don't mean much."

Though small, it could become significant because of David's strong personal style. There have been so many fine chefs who have developed their skills in Adelaide and then migrated east. There is still, of course,Cheong Liew And at his former restaurant, Nediz, as proof that there are exceptions to every generalisation, a former Sydney chef, Genevieve Harris, has bucked that trend. At the time of writing there is also the excellent cooking of Le Tu Thai outside of Adelaide at Bridgewater Mill. Unfortunately he was not able to be part of this book.

Meanwhile at Soho, David and Lisa are building a loyal clientele by word of mouth. At the time of writing they had been open just 2 months and David's aspiration was to "always serve people the best food that I can do...and if that brings me money and fame than that would be great, but I take every day one step at a time."

David Rottenberg's Recipes

Cured kangaroo, char-grilled and served with creamy celery root mousse, crispy potato hash and a roasted garlic sauce
Crispy skinned snapper with creamy garlic lentils and nicoise vegetables
Refreshing lemon curd tart with baked quince and creme fraiche sorbet