Today we’d like to introduce you to Marie Chia and Shane Stanbridge.
Marie and Shane, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
We were both vegan and already working in restaurants, Marie in Paris and Shane in San Francisco, when we decided to go to culinary school (NGI) in NYC to solidify our education around plant-based cooking specifically. That’s where we met and instantly connected. Together, we moved/moved back (Shane has been a resident of the Bay for about 13 years now) to the Bay Area, worked in restaurants more, and soon founded S+M Vegan in the winter of 2013.
Initially a tiny operation selling sandwiches after our shifts at a local establishment, we quickly grew into a full-time small business encompassing suppers (including our monthly Blind Tiger dinners in partnership with local breweries, wineries and cocktail makers, from 2014 to 2016), pop-ups at venues all over the Bay Area, and catering, as well as cooking classes and demos locally and in France and (Marie’s native) Singapore.
Our inspiration comes from our combined Italian-Californian and Teochew-Singaporean roots, and our passion for bold, honest flavors. Our culinary education comes from our experience in the kitchens of restaurants in Paris, New York, and the Bay Area (including Pure Food and Wine, Encuentro, Millennium, L’ Arpege).
Sharing the tastes from our heritages, encouraging conversation and good times, bringing back memories and forging new ones, all the while searching for more sustainable ways to create flavorful and colorful dishes, are some of our missions.
Today, we are focusing our efforts on opening the doors to our restaurant in Oakland’s Dimond district (our neighborhood), Lion Dance cafe. We hope to be cooking up some noodle dishes and dairy free milkshakes for you all in there by next summer! Follow @liondancecafe on Instagram for updates.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Any small business venture -especially in food- is unpredictable and a big risk, and we’ve definitely hit many lows along the way… but we’ve been lucky enough to have support from our communities (other small business owners can be your strongest allies, and always treat your customers with appreciation) along the way, which has helped us grow, learn, recover and become stronger. It’s a privilege to be allowed to make mistakes, and we are careful to not take a thing for granted.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about S+M Vegan – what should we know?
We are an Italian-Californian and Teochew-Singaporean meatless cooking duo. When we create a dish, sometimes the lines are blurred -is it an Italian dish, but with umami coming from traditionally east Asian sources (such as soy sauce)? Or is it a Chinese dish but finished with Italian basil and olive oil? The more we work together, the more parallels we find between our cultures and the more these connections come spontaneously. Sometimes we’ll also stick with more faithful interpretations of family recipes or dishes we grew up with.
Our food tells our story and respectfully, the stories of our families, and we reject the idea of superficial, appropriative fusion, done just for the sake of novelty. Although our food is ever-evolving, what we keep in mind is who we are cooking for. We hope for our dishes to connect with our guests either because it transports them home, or because it invites them into our home. Some of our more popular dishes that are also dear to us are our Sicilian style pizza, and our chwee kueh (steamed savory Teochew rice cakes).
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
It takes a village… Our family members who first brought us into the kitchen and fed us as children, and continue to patiently grace us with their culinary knowledge. The chefs and instructors who’ve showed us their ways, expanded our horizons, humbled us and taught us discipline. Our fellow service industry business owners who believed in us, commiserated with us and gave us a place to sell our food. The great people who’ve worked (or still work) with us and help us make it happen. The amazing clients who’ve continuously supported us through our evolution and continue to remind us that we can do this, and why we love to do this. Our friends, who put up with our hectic schedule and without who we’d be burnt out by now. And many more.
Contact Info:
- Website: snmvegan.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smveganchefs/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smveganchefs/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/smveganchefs
Image Credit:
Leslie Rodriguez, Jason Addy
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