San Telmo Restaurant, specialising in Argentinian cuisine, is lead by Head Chef, Stephen Clark. Chef Clark brings an amazing depth of skill and knowledge to his role at the head of San Telmo’s kitchen. Having previously worked under Sam Steck of Heart Attack & Vine in Carlton and Zeb Gilbert of the 2 Hatted Wasabi in Noosa, he has been instilled with an ethos of cooking simply and with respect for the ingredient. Beginning as Sous Chef at San Telmo in 2015, he fully understands what it takes to keep a restaurant running smoothly and to provide supreme customer service.

“We are always impressed with the level of quality Stephen brings to the table,” explains Jason McConnell, co-owner of San Telmo. “He possesses an incredible mixture of passion, creativity, and prescience.”

Taking inspiration from his travels through Argentina, the ethos for San Telmo’s menu is something that Stephen has always valued “Designing our menu to be shared brings something to the table that can’t be conveyed with words. It is simply a feeling of unity and warmth”

As the San Telmo Group has grown to open 2 more Argentinian restaurants in Melbourne in addition to the Peruvian, Pastuso, Stephen is excited for the future “In the past few years Melbourne has experienced a revolution of South American cuisine and it is only going to get better”

Of course, the one thing everyone wants to know from the Head Chef of San Telmo is what to order. When it comes to steak the Solomillo is number 1 on the list. “The bone in striploin is delicious and had the perfect balance between flavour, texture and fat” and since you can’t have steak without wine “The Renacer Malbec is my choice”

Stephen was nominated for the “Time Out Hot New Talent” award in 2016 and has won the “Golden Empanada” Competition at World Malbec Day 3 years in a row. He also helped San Telmo win the Best Steak Restaurant at the 2015 Restaurant and Catering awards and the coveted Peoples Choice Award at the 2017 Time Out Food Awards.

In addition to his education and experience, Stephen has been active in the community, getting involved in the ‘Green Your Laneway’ Council initiative. Chef Stephen has also partnered with Yume food, an Australian not for profit dedicated to help reduce food waste.

Stephen reached a milestone in his career as San Telmo received its first Hat from The Age Good Food Guide for 2018 and was recently awarded with the same accolade for the The Age Good Food Guide for 2019.

“While awards aren’t the driving force for why we do what we do” Stephen adds, “Being a Chef comes with a great deal of hard work and sacrifice and it is incredibly special to share this recognition with my team”