Behind Savoyage
We Don't Start With a Menu. We Start With a Person.
A menu tells you what someone will eat. It cannot tell you why they love it.
A menu can tell you what someone is going to eat.
It cannot tell you why they love it.
We want to know both.
That is why Savoyage does not begin with a rotating list of meals and ask clients to choose Tuesday A or Tuesday B.
We start with the person.
What did you grow up eating? What do you miss? What do you never want to see on a plate again? Do you like heat? Do you love fish but hate salmon? Are you happiest with roast chicken and potatoes, or would you rather try something you have never tasted?
Then there are the practical questions.
How large is your appetite? Do you prefer a substantial lunch or dinner? Are leftovers welcome? Which textures work well? What reheats beautifully? What will still be appealing two days from now?
These details matter because food only works if somebody wants to eat it.
Our own cooking life makes this approach natural.
Between Alex's German training and Egyptian childhood influences, Selkie's Penang roots and years at her restaurant, and a household that regards food markets as entertainment, our repertoire does not fit neatly into one cuisine.
That is useful.
A Savoyage week might include pork tenderloin with green pepper sauce, handmade egg rolls, Middle Eastern-inspired lamb sausage, black cod, Rouladen, wontons, a curry or a loaf of rustic bread.
The point is not to show off range.
The point is that the menu can follow the client rather than forcing the client to follow the menu.
Over time, something else happens.
We learn.
We notice which dishes disappear first. We remember that the broccoli should be softer, the sauce should be on the side, the portion should be smaller, or that the dish we thought would be a one-time experiment needs to come back soon.
That is when personal chef service becomes genuinely personal.
We do not want clients to eat "the Savoyage menu."
We want them to eat their menu.
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