With a food philosophy of creating meals that are warm and inviting, Sava Jovamovic is promising to bring a range of influences to the upcoming food precinct at Albury’s SS&A.
Sava Jovamovic has spent ten years working in Sydney, including at Bar Luca, considered one of the best burger bars in Australia. He now joins the team at SS&A as sous chef and is looking forward to helping develop a diverse new menu at the new dining precinct, Social Dining & Bar which is due to be completed in instalments throughout this year.
“I like to create food that is warm and inviting I guess, food that you can share with friends and family and makes everyone happy – comfort food basically, good for the soul,” Sava said.
Sava’s love for cooking was forged in his mother’s kitchen, with very contrasting cultural influences.
“My mum is Tongan, so there’s a focus on seafood, lots of fish, taro which is like a root vegetable, green bananas, heaps of coconut, fresh vegies and fruit, while my father is Serbian, more stodgy, hearty, heavy sauces, very winter oriented food.
‘I got to see the best of both worlds and it probably helped create my profile with what I cook now – a melting pot of different things.”
Sava has enjoyed ditching the city life for Albury and is constantly inspired by the fresh local produce at his disposal.
“Everything is at your fingertips here, we are so close to the source of our food,” he said.
“In Sydney, you can get great produce, but you can’t go down the road and pick up some great honey from Beechworth or see where your lamb is from or your beef is growing and where all your vegies are from. We’re just spoilt in this region. I think it’s awesome.”
Aside from enjoying the ‘country life’ Sava was also inspired to be part of the new dining precinct to be fully operational later this year.
“It was definitely a big drawcard for me to come here,” Sava said.
“It’s going to be a melting pot of great food, lots of different variety – great burgers, pizza, American style BBQ, Asian influence with some wok dishes and dumplings, while still retaining a traditional carvery.”
Executive Chef Justin Hope is excited about the contribution Sava will make to the new dining options.
“He’s worked in some award-winning venues in Sydney and brings a lot of experience, so I think he’ll offer up some great food and give Albury diners something they might not have seen before,” Justin said.
Meantime momentum continues to build with kitchen renovations and upgrades ahead of the launch of the new dining precinct.
“We’re going from the old bistro style club, to more of a food precinct – so all day dining, hitting all the marks with burgers, pizzas, Asian food. We’ll still keep the classics. We’ll have our favourite parmies or schnitzels just in an exciting new space,” Justin said.
The precinct will develop in stages, with all day dining to be offered from now, with completion around November.
For more on SS&A: http://www.ssaclub.com.au/
