BY BETTS GRIFFONE
AS HE WAS LYING IN HIS CRIB, Matt Sramek probably was thinking of ways to improve that bland baby food he had for breakfast. As it was, he began his career long before he knew it — cooking with his parents in West Covina as a kid and later preparing special dinners for his family as a teenager.
After high school, he realized food was his passion.
He entered Le Cordon Bleu at the California School of Culinary Arts in Pasadena, where he received formal training as a chef. His first job was at Saffron in the Guasti Villa. He had heard good things about the restaurant/catering company, so he joined the staff and spent two years as sous chef under Chef David De La Cruz.
Sramek then decided it was time to venture out and gain a little more experience, so he landed a job at the Hotel Bel Aire in Los Angeles, where he worked as a tournant under chefs Douglas Dodd and Bruno Lopez. It was a brigade system where he moved through every position in the kitchen, gaining the experience he would need to one day run his own kitchen.
During this time, however, he became frustrated not being able to create or use some of his own ideas, so, to motivate him, Lopez signed Sramek up and trained him to compete in the Academi Culinaire de France. Sramek was up against two chefs from New York, one from Vermont and another from California. After the grueling five-hour competition, during which he created a full dinner and dessert for 10, Sramek emerged the champion.
He moves on to represent the United States in a competition against 12 other nations to be held this month in Paris.
In the summer of 2007, Sramek returned to Saffron; a new location was in the works for the Riverside Art Museum.
When it opened, De La Cruz and Sramek worked together, until the kitchen was under control, then De La Cruz went back to the catering end of the company, leaving the restaurant in Sramek’s hands.
At age 23, the chef is still trying out new ideas and techniques. He learned traditional French methods and techniques in school, but his inventive mind has flourished because of the experience he gained after leaving school.
At Saffron, he likes using organically grown produce and sustainable proteins to create the elegant dishes on his prix fixe menus for lunch and dinner. The lunch menu changes every other week, and the dinner menu is revamped each month. That way, the recipes reflect the seasons and take advantage of the best the market has to offer.
Eggs are one of Sramek’s favorite foods to cook — no surprise considering one of his recipes calls for a panko-crusted, deep-fried poached egg. Really! Looking ahead, Sramek said he would like to have a garden where he can grow some of the organic fruits and vegetables and herbs he uses in his creative menu.
It’s a simple wish for a young chef with a bright future.
