How I Got Here: Melbourne chef Shannon Martinez on not being taken seriously in the food industry
WORDS BY MAGGIE ZHOU AND CAIT EMMA BURKE
“The most satisfying accomplishment is recreating food memories in vegan form.”
Have you ever stalked someone on LinkedIn and wondered how on earth they managed to land that wildly impressive job? While the internet and social media might have us believe that our ideal job is a mere pipe dream, the individuals who have these jobs were, believe it or not, in the same position once, fantasising over someone else’s seemingly unattainable job.
But behind the awe-inspiring titles and the fancy work events lies a heck of a lot of hard work. So what lessons have been learnt and what skills have proved invaluable in getting them from daydreaming about success to actually being at the top of their industry?
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Welcome to How I Got Here, where we talk to women who are killing it in their respective fields about how they landed their awe-inspiring jobs, exploring the peaks and pits, the failures and the wins, and most importantly the knowledge, advice and practical tips they’ve gleaned along the way.
It was a conversation with a vegan bouncer at a goth club in her twenties that sparked Shannon Martinez‘s interest in vegan food. Now a stalwart in the Australian food scene, Shannon has spearheaded the embrace of vegan cooking at every level of the industry – all while not being vegan herself.
In place of a mentor, she gained unofficial cooking experience from travelling the world and now heads up Lona Misa and Smith and Daughters in Melbourne, and Alibi Bar and Dining in Sydney. Here, she talks us through the highs and lows of her illustrious career in the hospitality business.
Take us back to when you were first starting out. Did you study to get into your chosen field, or did you start out with an apprenticeship? How did you open your venues? Tell us the story.
My beginning is not your average chef story. However, I can say I aspired to be a chef from the age of 12 after my mother gifted me a trunk of cooking utensils. My professional cooking journey began when I completed an advanced diploma during high school at Sofitel. I loved it so much that I continued to work there for free after my diploma to gain experience.
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Following this, I undertook an apprenticeship at Richmond Hill Larder, run by chef and author Stephanie Alexander at the time, which was a high-intensity environment. The venue permanently closed a few years ago but I remember being in charge of baking the muffins each morning.
On a night out in my early twenties, I befriended a vegan bouncer at a goth club. Fascinated by his outlook on eating and veganism, [it] became a major inspiration for my cooking, creativity and career. Not long after that, I married a professional skateboarder and toured with him and the Vans and Volcom’s teams across the world as their ‘unofficial’ chef.
Throughout these years of travelling, I experimented with different cooking techniques and ingredients and learnt about different cultures by visiting local markets wherever we were. My unconventional cooking experiences are really what shaped my career as a vegan chef as I never had a mentor to teach me the proper techniques.
What challenges/hurdles have you faced getting to where you are now? Can you tell us about one in particular?
Although vegan food is becoming more recognised and prominent, as a vegan chef, I have always struggled to get my food taken seriously. So much creativity goes into mastering vegan recipes and dishes, from textures to flavours and cooking techniques.
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Customers who are willing to experiment with vegan food allow me to broaden my horizons… I am very grateful for the challenges I’ve faced as they have allowed me to push boundaries and influence people to try new things which is what I thrive off. I believe that cooking vegan food has made me work 10 times harder to get where I am today.
What do you want people to know about your industry and/or role?
Our hospitality industry is incredibly resilient and hardworking. So much goes on behind the scenes to ensure we create memorable experiences for our customers. We spend hours on end together so we are like an extended family of passionate people who share similar interests. We truly put everything into our business and staff which keeps us going.
What’s the best part about being a chef and creative?
I love that we [at Lona Misa, Alibi Bar and Dining, and Smith and Daughters] lead the charge in the Australian vegan foodscape. This is what gives me the constant drive to push boundaries and improve myself. As the vegan industry grows, it keeps me on my toes leaving no room for complacency.
I adore teaching my teams at Smith and Daughters, Lona Misa and Alibi how to make different vegan dishes and watching their reactions and enthusiasm. As a vegan chef who isn’t vegan, the most satisfying accomplishments are recreating food memories in vegan form and hearing customers say if they could eat vegan food every day like this they would.
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What would surprise people about being a chef?
I don’t know if it would surprise people, but forget sleep! The longer you are in the industry and the more venues you own, the less you get to cook. All the other responsibilities outside of the kitchen such as development, strategies and management take up the majority of your time.
What skills have served you well in hospitality?
I’d definitely say patience, enthusiasm, passion, resilience, and for me, perfectionism when it comes to food. I will never serve a dish until it is perfected. My personality type also thrives off chaos so I enjoy a high-energy environment and being on the move constantly.
My love for cooking is also prominent… I can’t go a day without picking up a kitchen utensil. It’s true what they say, if you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life.
What advice would you give to someone who wants a career in hospitality and be like you one day?
You need to thrive in a high-intensity environment with long hours. The only way you can truly enjoy being a chef is if it’s something you are passionate about and are consumed in.
Any final practical tips?
Experiment with unfamiliar foods and cuisines by going to different markets. Immerse yourself in different cultures, talk to the stall workers, learn about the vegetables, get creative, explore and absorb all the information you can.
I always say to buy 20 things you haven’t purchased before and see what you can create. When I was younger I would do a month at a time learning about different cultural experiences by reading books, talking to market stall owners then going home to cook.
Read the rest of the How I Got Here series here.
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