Mauritius-born chef Bryan Seeborun is bringing the flavours of Europe to Croatian Club Geelong.
The club’s head chef says he’s inspired by his travels and working at restaurants around Europe.
Bryan’s family migrated to England in 2000.
He travelled across the channel, after graduating university in 2004, working as head chef at a Michelin Star restaurant in the south of France.
He returned to England a year later working as a chef in Kent, and cooking for the Ministry of Defence, among other jobs.
He travelled to Australia in 2014 and liked the country so much he moved to Broken Hill that October.
He moved to Torquay this year, starting at the Croatian Club in March.
“This place was a big opportunity to put my skills on show and so far I’m very happy,” he said.
Bryan says Croatian Fish Night on Friday is a big event for regulars, with hundreds crowding the bistro.
“It’s a very friendly community and they really welcomed me even though I’ve got a different background,” he said.
Bryan’s created a new menu for the club, which includes Croatian favourites such as sarma, cevapcici and goulash.
He’s also got the Aussie pub staples covered, with schnitzels on Tuesday, steaks on Wednesday and roast on Sunday.
Bryan’s looking forward to this month’s Euro 2016 and hopes to watch a few of the games which the club will televise live.
“I played for my national (Mauritius) under 21 team, before I got injured,” he says.
The club is open Tuesday to Friday, 12pm to 2pm and 5.30pm to 8.30pm, and Sunday 12pm to 2.30pm.
