Steve and Zorica Szabo

Share stoves and mutual respect for each other's talents, but she says 'he is the chef' and he says 'she has the tongue.'

Steve Szabo is only half joking when he says that the event which he is proudest of in his chef's career is marrying Zorica, his assistant chef "She is ten years younger and has the energy and drive to keep me going."

And he has done much in a twenty year career to be proud of. He worked with famous chefs in London at Carlton Towers, Le Suquet, Ma Maison and Waltons (chef Gary Jones) and did a stage with Alian Senderens at Lucas Carlton, in Paris, before coming to Australia in 1989.

After a short period with the Hyatt in Melbourne he worked as chef at Watson Place (now closed) then for two years at Gavels and Pipi's (adjoining Queen Street businesses, whose names are now changed) in the city before running his own restaurant Olives in Fitzroy for three and a half years. For a period he was also working at Gordon Place in what was then called Roses. Over that time he became known for a distinctive range of dishes and was consistently well reviewed. A partnership dispute led to the closure of Olives.

In the meantime Zorica had started her cooking career in Brisbane where she worked at the Sheraton Hotel. Her family are from Yugoslavia and both parents are very good cooks,

"My mother is an excellent cook as are all the women in the family."

But Zorica wanted to learn more than her family or Brisbane could teach her. She was an avid reader of cooking magazines and had heard of Steve Szabo in Melbourne. So when a position was advertised in the kitchen of Gavels, the apprentice chef flew to Melbourne to take it up. That was in 1993 and Steve and Zorica have been together ever since.

For four years they shared the stoves at the legendary Jimmy Watson's Wine Bar in Carlton. It was a revolutionary change in style for this much loved business. The upstairs area became a 'restaurant' in its service and style of menu with each dish including a glass of one of the famed Museum Wines from the Watson's cellar. Downstairs too the menu was changed to include some of Steve's specialities. Whilst the foodies loved it, some of the old customers complained about the different dishes and their prices. There were some memorable special dinners and events over the period and all of the food came from the one downstairs kitchen. It was hard work for the chefs (which included Dean Cambray previously of Cambray's) and for the waiters running up and down stairs. At the beginning of 1999, the emphasis changed and there was one menu style throughout. Then later in the year Steve and Zorica opted for a sea change in taking over the kitchen at the Queenscliff Hotel in October.

Clearly they enjoy working together but work stops at the kitchen door.

"I never bring work home, we never do that," says Zorica, "I work exactly the same hours as he does, we are always together. But my home is my private life."

She describes herself as being totally opposite in temperament to Steve. "I'm quiet, reserved, calm, I'm the one the staff come to when they need to know something and are too scared to ask Steve. He doesn't like trivial things."

But she insists that "he's the boss, at the end of the day, he's in charge. I know where I stand and I'm happy with that."

But Steve, on the other hand, happily admits to his wife being the chief organiser and the one who does all the ordering.

"She does a good job at whatever she puts her hand to, but her great strength as a cook - is her tongue."

It's pretty unusual to see a male chef so happily 'submit' to a woman's authority. But there is some history in his family of women in the kitchen. His mother was a pastry chef in the Dragon Hotel, Swansea where he was apprenticed. "She was a very good cook and so was my grandmother."

Now with his two children (from his first marriage) he tries to encourage them to try different foods and to enjoy the kitchen during the weekends and holiday periods when they are with him.

But for Zorica, there are no plans to have her own children. She finds cooking too demanding and wants to be able to keep challenging herself. She keeps reading and gets lots of ideas from chefs' books.

"It's always a challenge and you need that, otherwise you get too complacent. You've got to keep using your imagination and trying to work things out."

Steve puts it a bit differently, "I just want to get on with it and do nice food."

A cooking couple who complement each other very well.

INFLUENCES

Steve Szabo - Bernard Gaume, executive chef, Carlton Towers, who helped me to come out to Australia; Garry Jones, owner chef Jones Restaurnt, Perth, because of his passion for food.
Zorica Szabo - Steve Szabo; the books of Alain Ducasse, Michel Guerard, Michel Roux and Joel Roubuchon.

Steve and Zorica Szabo's Recipes

Minestrone style soup with egg 'en cocotte'
Saganaki cheese with cuttlefish and chilli coriander dressing
Chocolate Pudding