There’s a broad range of cuisine options available in Sale – Italian, Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, and of course the old favourite, fish ‘n’ chips.
For close to three decades, those dining locally have also had the option of Mexican, and that’s thanks to the efforts of Judith Treasure.
As the proprietor of El-Sombrero, Ms Treasure serves the food of Mexico, albeit with both a local and a Peruvian twist – a reflection of her life story.
Ms Treasure was born as Judith Savarain in the South American country of Peru and grew up in its capital city, Lima.
It was in Lima that she met her future husband, Bruce Treasure, at a cocktail party held in the Australian Embassy.
From there, she followed her beau to Malaysia, where she lived and worked as the owner of a restaurant for four years.
“I really liked it – the environment and the cooking,” Ms Treasure says of her time there.
After that, she made the move to Australia, first living in Sydney. Her first impression of the country was how quiet it was, especially when compared her native city; Lima is not only Peru’s capital, but its largest city and economic and social hub.
“Australia was just waking up – that’s how I picture it,” Ms Treasure explains.
She then moved to Sale, where she once again applied her culinary skills.
“When I came here, I said ‘What am I going to do?’
“And then I say, ‘A restaurant!’”
Her initial plan was to cook the food of Peru, but since Australians were not familiar with her country’s cuisine, she altered her vision.
“Because (the Australian) people don’t know Peruvian food, I (said) to myself, it has to be Mexican – Mexican and Peruvian. And then I started the business.”
That business being El-Sombrero.
The establishment serves the staples of a “traditional” Mexican restaurant – think tacos, enchiladas and fried beans – with the flavours and spices of Peru, all while adhering to Australian taste buds.
“Always, I think, when you go to a country, you have to see first the tastes of the people, and then you have to adapt it to their taste,” Ms Treasure explained.
“Because if you put (forward) the traditional food of your country, people will not like it sometimes.
“Some people, perhaps they do, but not everyone.”
To suit the Gippsland palette, for instance, Ms Treasure adds fewer chillies to her food than Peruvians usually would.
This is in contrast to Ms Treasure’s restaurant in Malaysia, a country whose citizens are used to spicy food.
“Over there, they eat a lot of chillies, and they grow out of their ears!” Ms Treasure laughs.
“With the chilli (dishes), they wanted it really, really, really hot!”
But even without the Peruvian influence, and the extra spice, what’s served in El-Sombrero technically isn’t authentic to Mexico.
According to Ms Treasure, most of what Australia perceives to be “Mexican” is actually influenced by the United States: “It’s mainly an American mix.”
Evidence of many influences in Ms Treasure’s cooking is adorned throughout the restaurant, with paraphernalia from Mexico and Peru identifiable, as well as the frequent motif of Looney Tunes character Speedy Gonzalez.
Among the more curious items is a photograph of a young Ms Treasure in Malaysia with former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke, taking pride of place at the restaurant’s bar.
Ms Treasure is unsure when the photo was taken – by her estimation, it was “37 years ago” – but official government records show that Mr Hawke went on an international tour to Malaysia in February 1984, suggesting it was most likely snapped during that visit.
Mr Hawke isn’t the only politician she’s rubbed shoulders with – Ms Treasure also had a chance meeting in the 1990s with Peru’s then-President, Alberto Fujimore, during a brief sojourn to her home country.
News of her encounter made the pages of the Gippsland Times, as did a visit by the Mexican and Peruvian consuls to her restaurant around the same period.
Since opening in the mid-1990s, El-Sombrero has become a fixture of Sale’s Raymond Street, and gained a number of loyal customers.
In that time, Ms Treasure has noticed that her usual patrons aren’t the biggest fans of change.
Any alteration to her menu, particularly the removal of a favourite item, will result in protest.
Even so, Ms Treasure’s regulars aren’t adverse to change, as witnessed by their increasing appetite for beans.
“Before, they didn’t touch so much the beans mixed with their meat or with the chicken; now, they like it. That’s really quite surprising,” she remarked.
These days, any change to the menu is limited to the font and images, rather than the items within.
The selection of food is now shorter and simpler, both for the benefit of customers, and the business should Ms Treasure choose to sell it; in her view, the basic menu will make running the restaurant easier for the new owners who take over.
She stresses, though, that she has no plans of selling in the immediate future.
El-Sombrero is currently open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 6pm to 8pm.
For bookings, call 0488 456 797.
