The first thing one notices about Chef Pushkar Marathe is how often he uses the word “we” in the conversation.
Whether describing the genesis of his new restaurant, Stage in Palm Beach Gardens, the creation of a dish or what he hopes will be the takeaway for each guest, each answer is expressed as a group effort and journey, something very telling of who Marathe is.
Unity and consonancy — a fusion of people, food and culture are second nature to Marathe, 37, who grew up hopping around India, a byproduct of being a child in a military family.
His father, who was in the Indian Air Force, would get posted to a base for a few years, before moving on to the next. As he grew up exposed to the diverse cultures of India, his grandmother and mother’s ease and love for cooking played an integral role in developing his passion for food.
That childhood exposure to travel piqued his curiosity to explore the world, and, at age 20, Marathe left for Switzerland to begin his culinary training, using that experience as a gateway to explore the Middle East, Cayman Islands and Caribbean.
He arrived to the United States in 2008 and found that the cultural diversity he’d experienced dotted around the world was available all in one stop.
“I really thought, ‘You can travel everywhere and then you come to the United States, you pretty much get the best of every culture, right here.’ You get to see African culture, Filipino, Asian and Caribbean culture,” Marathe says.
He’d work in California for two years before finding his way to South Florida where he trained under renowned Chef Dean Max before collaborating with Chef Niven Patel as Chef/partner to open award-winning Ghee Indian Kitchen in Miami which explored the rich tapestry of flavors from his homeland.
The perspective that food — how we prepare it, experience it and respond to it — is a fluid, evolving adventure for both the diner and the chef is what led Marathe to open Stage (pronounced stãj) on Feb. 14, 2020. Beginning with the name, a term referring to the intern or apprentice position in the food industry, it’s a philosophy he aspires to emulate for all who enter its hearth.
Yellowfin Tuna Ceviche
“The inspiration is you learn different things from different places and that’s how we connect the restaurant to the global, or the worldly cuisine part of it. Then also, you don’t learn the same thing every day, you learn something new every day and adapt and change, so who we were when we opened till today is always evolving and food is changing with the seasons and people — that’s the inspiration we take,” Marathe says.
He defines the restaurant as “New American,” stating that the country’s global diversity “makes that category a logical choice.
“America is all about us, right? Like you and me and the people around us. Today’s America is really not only about Irish and Italian. There’s a lot more to offer than just one specific culture or cuisine,” he says.
Marathe reflects on the diversity in his immediate family. His wife is half Italian, half English, he is born and raised in India, his son is a mixture of them and his friends and employees come from every corner of the world.
That patchwork of places is prevalent in his cuisine and may even come with a side of social responsibility. Take, for instance, the Yellowfin Tuna Ceviche, made with coconut milk.
“The number one reason I do that is because Florida has so many coconut palm trees and I wanted to focus on the coastal importance of Florida — like how many coconuts are just thrown away or not being used.”
Marathe makes a Leche De Tigre (a Peruvian sauce used in ceviche) with coconut and tops the diced tuna with an Indian-style puffed rice called “mamra.”
“It’s an Indian technique I learned from my family. [It has] mustard seeds, curry leaves, spicy peppers and turmeric,” he says.
The results are a multilayered, multicultural experience of textures and flavors that has made this dish one of the restaurant’s most popular — and one of the many examples of how sidestepping traditional expectations of what a dish should look like or have in it offers much more than just a wonderful dining experience.
“Of course, I want [diners] to enjoy the flavors, but I think what I really want them to take away is that hopefully they start to learn the importance of diversity and being open to trying different things,” Marathe says.
Local Grouper with Rassam Hollandaise
Other dishes crossing boundaries include White Truffle Mushroom Karanji (a sweet, deep-fried dumpling native to India) with Gruyere cheese and truffle dust, Vegetable “Pachadi” salad, with carrots, tomatoes, peanuts and turmeric-mustard seed vinaigrette and Crispy Plantain Chaat (a popular roadside snack served across South Asia) with yogurt, tamarind, mint and crispy potato.
Pescatarians will adore the Local Grouper with Rassam Hollandaise. Rassam, a fragrant tomato broth made with a variety of spices from southern Indian cuisine, is made in-house and blended with hollandaise, a classic French sauce — just one example of combining flavors and techniques. The Wagyu Tenderloin with miso sauce and Wagyu Osso Bucco with Sri Lankan coconut curry lures carnivores from as far as South Beach and the Wood Grilled Chicken Peri Peri with patatas bravas, cashews and black sesame is another big hit.
There were those who questioned Marathe’s decision to leave the culinary epicenter of Miami and move to a nondescript strip mall in Palm Beach Gardens, but the decision has shown what talent, curiosity and ambition can reap. Stage is packed with regulars and newcomers, eager to trust Marathe, blend cultural boundaries and delve into his delicious vision which has blossomed into a memorable standout in Florida’s culinary landscape.
“We’re not just cooking food, we’re also changing the way people think about different cultures,” he says.
Photo by Frederick R Alway
Local Vegetable Salad (Pachadi)
Serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS
For the salad:
1 cup carrots, grated
1 cup cauliflower, grated
1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 watermelon radishes, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped
¼ cup roasted peanuts, chopped
½ cup calabaza, grated
½ cup red cabbage, shaved
1 cup arugula
1/3 cup turmeric-mustard seed vinaigrette
Salt, to taste
For the Turmeric-Mustard Seed Vinaigrette:
½ cup neutral oil (grapeseed oil or sunflower oil)
1/4 cup black mustard seeds
1 Tbsp. asafetida (also known as Hing,
availalble in any Indian ethnic store)
5 oz. lemon juice
5 oz. organic agave syrup
4 oz. turmeric juice
4 oz. ginger juice
2.5 oz. yellow mustard
.75 oz. salt
Pro tip: You can use a store-bought turmeric, ginger and cayenne pepper shot in place of fresh turmeric and ginger juice.
PREPARATION
To make the salad:
1. In a mixing bowl, mix all ingredients except for arugula,
dressing, and radishes; season with salt.
2. Add vinaigrette, mix well.
3. Lightly mix in arugula. Garnish with shaved radishes and serve.
To make the vinaigrette:
1. Mix lemon juice, turmeric, ginger juice, and yellow mustard in a mixing bowl over ice; add agave syrup and season with salt.
2. Heat up the oil in a sauté pan.
3. Turn the heat to low once oil is hot, add mustard seeds, once they start crackling, add asafetida.
4. Add oil to citrus juice and mix vigorously with whisk until emulsified. Season to taste with salt, if necessary.
5. Store in a container and keep refrigerated. It will hold for about a week.
Stage is located at 2000 PGA Boulevard Ste. 5502, Palm Beach Gardens. For more information, call 561-408-3685 or visit stagepga.com.