by Laura A Serrano
Great Taste Magazine Sept/Oct 2016 Issue
WHETHER YOU’RE SURFING THE WAVES OR SHOPPING AROUND, you must stop by Pacific
City in Huntington Beach and grab a bite to eat at Saint Marc. Indulge yourself with a unique dining experience unlike any other. This restaurant caters to everyone.
In the mood for a sit down meal? Grab a seat, make yourself comfortable, and order yourself a Kobe Burger. Want a snack on the go? Not a problem. Walk your way over to Saint Marc’s bacon bar—that’s right folks, a bacon bar.
All things go at Saint Marc Pub Café Bakery & Cheese Affinage!
You get American cuisine with a unique twist. You get quality food and delicious drinks.
Now, let’s get back to the bacon bar. We sat with Chef Jarod (aka Jay) Bogsinske and he gave us an inside scoop of all things bacon.
“When your mom is cooking bacon, you’re in the kitchen grabbing a slice before it hits the
plate. It’s natural. It’s America’s alarm clock. We wanted to ma
ke it where people could walk up and down the boardwalk holding bacon and that’s what we did” Bogsinske said.
Saint Marc has a number of rubs such as, apple pie, garlic parmesan, barbecue, coffee, the
list goes on! “Smithfield is the start of the bacon. We like to spice rub and flavor as much as we can ourselves” said Bogsinske.
“Another big part of the restaurant is our cheese” Bogsinske added. Saint Marc gives guests the option to build their own cheeseboard and the iPad menu makes cheese choosing a breeze.
“The menu tells you the type of cheese and all the nuances and beers and wines are paired with every single food item, connecting the dots for the guests, making it easier for them to order; not have to wait, not have a struggle” said Bogsinske.
Aside from bacon and cheese, Saint Marc also offers chef plates. These culinary driven, higher dollar items change every month. You can come to Saint Marc to eat very casually and have Buffalo Sloppy Joe, or you can select items that are high speed, like the Ahi Tuna Hot Stone.
Even items as simple as Chili (Kobe Beef) Cheese Fries, are cooked with premium ingredients. “I don’t see anyone in the state making chili out of Kobe beef, but we do” said Bogsinske.
With all this food talk, we were curious and wanted to know which menu item Chef Bogsinske saw himself eating religiously for the rest of his life.
“I’m going to tell you, we got this burger that we just put on the menu: it’s the double barbecue bacon cheeseburger; it’s a $20 burger, and that’s two half-pound burgers with onion rings, barbecue sauce, and bacon date jam. You can only eat half of it; I can’t eat the whole thing, I’ve tried it twice. It’s one of those things you drive across town for—it’s
that good, but there’s no way you can finish it. You’re going to take half home and you’re going to be talking about it” said Bogsinske.
Needless to say, Saint Marc is a definite must if you find yourself in the Huntington Beach area. Become a regular and you might discover a few hidden treasures.
As with anyone with a passion, the interest develops from experiences, family, hobbies, etc.
“My family has hospitality baked into them. It’s easy for me to give people genuine hospitality because I grew up that way and it was instilled in me at five years old,” Bogsinske said.
“Every year, Gramma came for at least two weeks around Christmas time. I watched the baking, cooling, packaging and the delivering of cookies to all of our family, friends and relatives. It was a 15 hour-a-day process, where every flat surface in the kitchen and dining room was covered in paper grocery bags to cool the cookies. Anywhere from 20
to 30 varietals of to-die-for cookies from recipes my Gramma tweaked for 80 years: chocolate crinkles, peanut butter ritz, lemon bars, pecan pies, monkey bars; the baking was world class! Every friend and family member eagerly awaited the landing of tins.
It showed me, at a very young age, the importance that food, family, and genuine hospitality would play in my life and career” said Bogsinske.
“My first job was in my uncle’s pizzeria at 17. My four cousins and I took over, remodeled, and operated two pizzerias along with a few employees. We grew both businesses the hard way, spending every minute of the waking day living it, working together to build
successful restaurants that were later sold for incredible amounts of money” said Bogsinske.
“From there, I fell in love with Italian food, and then I became enamored with Mediterranean, Arabic, Greek, and French cuisines. Flavor favorites just kept snowballing and that’s when I went into the American Culinary Federation and completed my apprenticeship working with celebrated chef, Michael de Maria. I owe a lot of
what I do to him; I owe the animal that I am to Michael de Maria. What I am doing today is very different, but my higher fundamental and foundation I owe to him” said Bogsinske.
The majority of Chef’s culinary history is in fine dining, and he traveled the world honing his skill set. Though Saint Marc is a completely different model: not only are the procedures learned in place but the execution of food is top-notch.
The road to success is a long one and there isn’t always a clear path. We asked Chef
Bogsinske what kind of advice he’d give to students interested in the hospitality and
culinary industry.
“It’s one of the hardest jobs in the world. You are going to work harder, faster, every holiday, every weekend, for very little pay, for a very long time. The kitchen is very strict, disciplined, and challenging. It’s a pressure cooker that one out of ten people actually conquer and build a career, or open their own restaurant. Watching Food Network and liking to bake is one thing, but actually working in or running a kitchen at the highest level is a massive lifestyle commitment that I am 30 years into and still learning” said Bogsinske.
“There will constantly be a push to make culinary stronger and stronger at Saint Marc.
That won’t ever stop—even if we open 100 or 1000 stores—we’re always going to push the
envelope. We’re going to continue to grow the menu and we’re teaching the entire team to
evolve. We’ve built a culture and we tell everyone in this building, ‘You’re in control of
your growth and your destiny’. I would say it’s the biggest piece to my job; conditioning the culture, getting people on the same page that I am,” said Bogsinske.
Chef Bogsinske is truly devoted to the culinary world and it shows through all his hard
work and dedication in making Saint Marc a success.
SAINT MARC PUB CAFE BAKERY & CHEESE AFFINAGE
21058 Pacific Coast Highway M230
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
www.saint marcusa.com
ESTABLISHED DECEMBER 20, 2015
HOURS
Monday – Wednesday – 11am – Midnight
Thursday – Friday – 11am – 2am
Saturday 10am – 2am
Sunday 10am – 10pm
CHEF JAY BOGSINSKE – FROM THE CHEF’S MOUTH
FAVORITES:
KITCHEN GADGET OR TOOL Yamasaki Grapefruit Macerator. You inject a blade through a dime size hole and a blade goes inside, expands and liquefies the fruit inside of the grapefruit, leaving the rind as a vessel
KITCHEN APPLIANCE Vitamix blender makes velvet out of anything
COOKWARE French iron pans
CONDIMENT Our Cilantro Lime Salt. It’s great on pork, margaritas, watermelon, bloody marys, tacos, chicken wings and fish
OC RESTAURANT Gen Korean BBQ
DISH TO EAT The local pupusas at every Tuesday’s Surf City Nights, the street fair in Huntington Beach
JUNK FOOD Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
RAW INGREDIENT Persian cucumber
FAST FOOD IN-N-OUT
HOURS YOU WORK IN A WEEK 70-85
BIGGEST MYTH ABOUT WORKING IN THE KITCHEN Everyone perceives that chefs eat all day while cooking and preparing foods. The truth is you are running around from the minute you walk in the door. I find myself at the end of a 15 hour day going home to eat for the first time.
SIGNATURE OR FAVORITE DISH TO MAKE Strangely, it would be the veggie crudité with edamame hummus. Although it’s a cold dish with no cookery, the whimsical look when finished is picture perfect.
DESCRIBE YOUR MANAGEMENT STYLE Direct, Honest and Demanding.
YEARS IN BUSINESS 27
IF NOT A CHEF Interpreter or linguistics. I speak Arabic, Spanish, kitchen French and have always been intrigued by culture, language and tradition.
HOBBIES Music, gardening, art
CHARITY AFFILIATION(S) Liver Alliance, Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Cala, and many more.
