Cover Nicolas Grisé (left) and Jonathan Sebastian (right)
Nicolas Grisé (left) and Jonathan Sebastian (right)
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Jonathan Sebastian and Nicolas Grisé of Super Secret Social speak to us about running a successful supper club
Having opened the doors of their home to the public in 2020, Jonathan Sebastian and Nicolas Grisé's supper club, Super Secret Social is no longer Kuala Lumpur's best kept secret. Seating eight guests each night from Thursday to Saturday, sessions are often booked months in advance, and not without reason — the duo impresses with an ever changing menu curated by Sebastian, celebrating Malaysian produce, paired with ethically produced wines selected by Grisé. Effortlessly charming and amicable, Sebastian and Grisé make the perfect supper club hosts, able to make even the most introverted of guests feel at home.
Read on to find out more about Super Secret Social and what sets it apart from other restaurants.
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Could you tell me about the inspiration behind Super Secret Social?
Jonathan Sebastian (JS): Super Secret Social started off as our little project during the pandemic as we needed to make some extra cash during a pretty strapped period. We had this elaborate dream of opening our own restaurant somewhere in the world as our retirement plan, so conceptually we had an idea of what we wanted. Over the years, we would have these amazing chats about what we would do if we ever opened a restaurant, and when the pandemic hit we realised that we had to put everything we chatted about to life.
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What is the concept behind Super Secret Social?
JS: Super Secret Social is an experience designed for eight people. We function by season, changing our menu and pairings every five to six months. The theme of the season varies according to my inspirations at the moment.
Nicolas Grisé (NG): We select wine pairings making sure to promote small vineyards with a minimum intervention style of winemaking. The aim is for our guests to understand that Malaysia is a rich country when it comes to ingredients and to discover new and unique wine labels. We source local, organic and sustainable food and wine; amplified by Jonathan’s love for Malaysia’s crazy views on flavour, we create beautiful little dishes that aim at creating a sense of nostalgia with an exciting amount of modernity.
JS: We pride ourselves on being Malaysian modern. Every time I’m in the kitchen I’m always thinking of ways to make a Malaysian technique come to life. Most chefs follow the French or Nordic method, which is age old and easy to consume, but how can we capture methods which our people have perfected over centuries and help it become something in the modern world? This is exactly what Super Secret Social is trying to achieve.
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What are some of your favourite creations to serve?
JS: Over five seasons we’ve created more than forty unique dishes. It’s so hard to pick, but our most unique was definitely our take on otak-otak. We made an amazing pudding-like texture with lamb brain and served it with a delicious sugar cracker and a spicy syrup made with pepper and coffee. We explained the dish only after to avoid scaring our guests and everyone was pleasantly surprised!
NG: We also like to surprise our guests with unique pairings. Once, we served a biodynamic Pinot Noir alongside Jonathan’s butter fish with fermented soy consommé, showing that red wine can be paired with white fish too. We also like to showcase different styles of wines such as Momento Mori Etcetera Etcetera, a super funky natural field blend red wine which we paired with a beetroot salad. Other pairings include the Ximénez-Spínola Late Harvest, a nutty and dry desert wine from Andalusia which was paired with a pineapple and peanut dessert. As part of my ethos, we never serve Champagne, instead choosing high quality sparkling wines from different parts of the world.
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What sets your supper club apart from other restaurants?
JS: We focus on sourcing local ingredients from incredible people. Our joy is finding things we would have never tried anywhere and including them on our menu. Most recently we served locally raised beef tenderloin which is something neither of us have ever had in KL as most places focus on imported meats. We had people from France who said it was the best steak they have ever tasted; moments like those make us extremely grateful for this journey we have embarked on.
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What do you hope for your supper club in the future?
NG: Since things have started to re-open this year, we have had some collaborations with other businesses. For now, this is how we would like to grow - we have found so many cool new players in town and we all support each other’s growth.
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Credits
Photography: Imran Sulaiman
About
Katelyn is the dining and travel editor of Malaysia and Indonesia. Based in Kuala Lumpur, she offers readers an inside look at the movers and shakers in Asia’s growing food and beverage industry.
