Beyond The Pass

Denise Irvine chats to Maria Senear

About: I’m the owner-chef of The River Kitchen on Victoria St South. I worked for previous owners Brent and Lisa Quarrie, and bought the cafe from them nearly six years ago. I moved to neighbouring (bigger) premises in October 2019, just six months before the first Covid lockdown. I’ve worked in hospo for 34 years and my training has been all about on-the-job opportunities rather than formal qualifications. My first job was on Friday afternoons after school, when I cleaned out the fridge and cabinets at a deli-bakery at the Beerescourt shops. The owner did lovely homemade food, including a very good walnut streusel. When I was about 16, I got a front-of-house job at Gerard’s Restaurant, on Ulster St.  On the night I started, I asked my first-ever table how they wanted their pork schnitzel cooked. By the looks on their faces I knew I’d made a mistake! I worked for a number of years under maitre d’ David Charteris, and learned so much from him. Later I had various roles at Wintec’s catering school, and was there for 16 years. I met Mandy Scott at Wintec, co-owner of Scotts Epicurean, and I left Wintec to manage her second eatery, Scotts on Ward. I made all the cakes at Scotts on Ward, and did a lot of other cooking. I was living in Victoria St at that time, opposite The River Kitchen, where I had breakfast every Saturday and Sunday. One day I said to Lisa (Quarrie), “I can make good cakes; can I have a job?”

Cooking style?

I cook like my grandma, Eileen; it goes back to her basic skills of baking and putting up nice food for people. But I do it with twists and quirks, and I love café-style food. I also love the catering side of my business where I can try some new things. At The River Kitchen we have dishes that have been on the menu since it opened 14 years ago.  We could never take off our salmon hash, or our Spanish beans, and the Saintly Eggs (variations on eggs bene). Although these days we style them differently. We also do fabulous baking, loads of gluten-free options, and always our signature date and custard scones. Not a day goes by here without us making date and custard scones.

Best thing about being a chef?

I get to be creative all day: from managing staff through to cooking food, coming up with new ideas, and meeting people. The Covid pandemic has taught me to stay community focused, keep the connections with our customers. They stay loyal to the place they know, and this is their place.

Key life lesson?

The key lesson for me is never give up, never. I’ve always wanted to be a chef and I’ve learned from so many people. Now I am teaching others, and that is a privilege.