Steak Social has won the award for International Restaurant of the Year (Independent) at the Certified Angus Beef annual ceremony held recently in Las Vegas.
“It’s a big one for us, to be honest,” said chef Jonathan Rivard, the owner of Steak Social along with his wife, Andreea Rivard. “I didn’t even know we were up for this award, so this makes it even more special. It was more of a surprise.”
Certified Angus Beef and partners came together for the brand’s 45th annual conference, at the Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa, from 20-22 Sept., to “recognize achievements and embrace opportunities for continued growth”, according to the CAB website. The brand recognises people from across the entire beef industry, “from family farmers and ranchers, to processors, distributors, restaurateurs and grocery stores”.
Jonathan Rivard told the Compass he turned down the invitation twice to attend the conference this year, and then John Stika, CAB president, reached out to him, “without telling me why, so I made plans and arranged to go, and, little to my knowledge, we were up for this award. Now I know why they really wanted me to go.”
‘The stakes were high’
He described the moment he heard his restaurant’s name called at the Certified Angus Beef Meat Ball, saying, “There’s 800 people sitting in this room, and here I am cutting through my prime Certified Angus Beef steak when I hear ‘Steak Social’ in the background. I turned around, there’s the logo and the spotlight is on me… it was quite a magical moment.”
He added that the stakes were high in winning the award, as each year hundreds of restaurants around the world are nominated for outstanding performance, noting, “to get that award for this little dot on the map is huge recognition, not only for us but the Cayman Islands”.
The chef became the brand ambassador of Certified Angus Beef for the Cayman Islands in 2016. In 2019, the opportunity came up to open his steakhouse, and “without a doubt, Steak Social was all about CAB”, he said.
He said he’s always stood behind the brand as a consumer.
“This gives us access to greater cuts of beef that aren’t available in the Cayman Islands. We work closely with all CAB chefs and [the] headquarters in Ohio to develop new recipes, and bring new innovative items that aren’t on the market yet.”
The classic steakhouse, located in Caribbean Plaza on West Bay Road, boasts “diverse menu that dictates honest yet bold offerings,” according to its website. The restaurant opened in November 2019, but then was a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic, something Rivard said “definitely wasn’t in the business plan”.
“I’ve always worked in restaurants my whole life, but when you become a chef and owner, it’s completely different, you’re wearing a lot of hats, and it came with a lot of responsibility, but even more when COVID hit; so we had to pause, regroup, figure out a solution and a way forward.”
He credited support from the community in helping to survive through COVID, adding, “we’ve gained this local community following that is just beyond what we could have achieved ever”.
‘Success doesn’t happen alone’
As for the secret to his success, “There is none,” he said, noting the restaurant is a team effort. “Honestly, there is no magic way of getting it done. Success doesn’t happen alone, doesn’t happen overnight and it’s definitely an everyday thing.”
He starts from scratch each day, saying nothing is guaranteed in this business. “I think this is why we made it up until now. COVID was hard but remaining a top restaurant on the island is very difficult.”
With many restaurants on island and lots of foodies, “you gotta raise the bar all the time”.
Next generation of chefs
Rivard said the standard is so high across the board, “if we all succeed together, then we’re all winning”, adding he is always looking to bring in Caymanians, to “pass on this information, this data to the next generation. I’m getting older as well, so someone has to take over soon, you know.”
He said the goal moving forward is to maintain the local customer base, “keeping true to ourselves, catering to our locals”.
Andreea Rivard leads the front of the house, he said, adding he is grateful for her, as she takes care of the local customers and helps to deliver a memorable dining experience.
“The local support is always here, tourists come and go. The biggest part of our success is remembering where we are and who we’re catering to.”
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