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Chef Camille Massard Combe. (JG Photos/Andy Fuller & Courtesy of Mediterranea Restaurant)
“We are a family here. Many of the staff have no training before they start work. Some, yes, they do. But in general I have to teach my staff from zero,” says Kamil, the chef and founder of the Mediterranea Restaurant.
He came to Yogyakarta for a holiday in 2008, fell in love with the place and soon noticed an absence of noteworthy French restaurants in the city.
To plug the gap, the trained and certified chef — who was born Camille Massard Combe — opened his own restaurant and adopted the name Kamil, the closest-sounding Indonesian name to his own, and has never looked back since.
Mediterranea — which is located on Jalan Tirtodipuran and opened a year ago this month — is his fourth establishment and, as Kamil explains, is one that really reflects his approach to cooking traditional French and Mediterranean food.
“This is home cooking. I don’t buy anything that is pre-packaged. Well, I don’t make my own butter — but such things are exceptions,” says Kamil, who had worked mainly in Paris and Toulouse.
He says he tries to make his kitchen as simple and authentic as possible.
“Here, I work as if it was France 50 years ago. We don’t use a microwave,” says Kamil, 39. “We use a wood-fire oven and we don’t just use it to make pizzas.”
There is an atmosphere of simplicity and togetherness at Mediterranea, much like most small restaurants in France, where a group of students can sit next to a table of rich landowners and businessmen.
Kamil says he wants to make Mediterranea as accessible to as broad a range of people as possible.
“I want to make it reflect my personality. I am not an exclusive person. I am eclectic. You will also hear this in the music that I play here. Most of the people here will have never heard it,” he says, citing Ben Harper as one of his favorites.
“This is a restaurant in constant transformation. I don’t let myself be satisfied for even two seconds of the day. I’m always thinking about how I can improve this place from now or six months ahead.”
But teaching Indonesian staff how to cook traditional French and Mediterranean food when they have never traveled abroad or tasted the real dish before they came to work at Mediterranea can be a bit of a challenge.
There is a special way each ingredient must be treated in Mediterranean cooking, and although Kamil has appointed group leaders he can trust, he still needs to keep an eye on what is going on in the kitchen and what needs to be done.
He patiently guides each of his staff from the most basic tasks to learning the specifics for each kind of dish — fish, sauces, chicken, desserts. For his senior staff members, he gives lessons on how to manage the kitchen and how to work with the resources that are available.
It didn’t take long before the staff were able to look at each other and know what to do, but Kamil says he still hasn’t figured out how to have people correctly pronounce the names of dishes on the menu, such as penne with champignon sauce.
Mediterranea is a favorite among locals and expats, and Kamil always tries to mingle with his customers. “I can talk with people who also come from France and are able to give me direct feedback in regards to the special of the day,” he says.
With Mediterranea Restaurant, Kamil is establishing a way of eating, a way of cooking and a way of enjoying food. It has an egalitarian ethos and this does not compromise its quality, just as the quality of the cooking and ingredients doesn’t inflate the prices of the meals.
“With this restaurant, I give a little of my country. I’ve got a simple philosophy. Don’t envy people, don’t copy people, be yourself,” Kamil says.
Mediterranea Restaurant
Closed on Mondays
Jl. Tirtodipuran 24AMantrijeron, YogyakartaTel. 0274 371 052restobykamil.com
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