New Meze Bar brings Middle Eastern flavours to St Aubin

Wednesday 25 October 2023

A familiar face in Jersey's culinary scene has realised her dream of owning a restaurant in St Aubin – supported by a three-generation family team of women.

Elke Jacques' new Meze Bar offers a Middle Eastern culinary experience and cosy atmosphere inspired by renowned chef and food writer Yotam Ottolenghi.

Located above the St Aubin Sports Bar, the restaurant opened its doors earlier this month.

But Elke is no stranger to the culinary business, having worked with her parents at their restaurant as well as owning various pop-ups and a café. 

Her focus now is on creating a welcoming "family community vibe" and offering private parties at her new Meze Bar which operates under the 'Flavour' brand – a business she has owned for over a decade.  

It is located in what was originally a Mexican-inspired restaurant, Air Mex West, and has an entertainment licence for live acoustic music and a DJ. 

Elke stated that the Meze Bar's emphasis is on "mostly healthy and wholesome food," and that she is "proud" to offer a diverse range of vegan, and vegetarian meals – as well as Lebanese chicken and Persian lamb dishes – with the entire menu being naturally gluten-free due to everything being "freshly-produced and home-made". 

Pictured: Elke said that "hospitality is in her blood", with her mother, sister, and daughter all having worked in the industry. 

She created the menu and dishes with the help of her sister, explaining: "My mother has been an integral part of creating Meze, as has my sister Tamara and my beautiful daughter Milla.

"I couldn't have fulfilled my food and bar dream without a three-generation family team."

Elke said that she "inherited the flavour gene" from her restauranteur parents, Hannes and Joan, who owned Bistro Soleli during the 1980s, which has since become Mark Jordan. 

"My passion for hospitality was inherited from my father and his mother who were in the industry," she said.

Pictured: Elke's Austrian father, Hannes Schlandt who owned Bistro Soleli during the 1980s.

She continued: "I spent my time working [at the Bistro Soleli], mostly in the front of the house, and a little in the kitchen.

"A lot of the time was spent standing by the hot plate watching in awe how my father cooked without measuring, throwing delicious dishes together full of flavour and passion..

One of Elke's standout memories was observing her father expertly create enormous sheets of apple strudel (or 'apfelstrudel') pastry.

"He was Austrian and never a tastier strudel to be had!" she said. 

The Meze Bar currently operates from Thursday to Saturday – but has plans to expand its offerings by introducing 'Bistro Sundays' with a roast dinner and speciality coffee "as homage to the Soleil days."

Elke's own culinary journey began in 2009 when she launched Flavour.je to provide nutritious soup made from local and seasonal ingredients to various catering and retail outlets in the island. 

Over the years, she ventured into different pop-up initiatives, such as a soup bar in the market in 2010 and a kiosk at Noirmont during the summer of 2013 – all whilst waiting for her dream St Aubin venue to become available.

In 2017, Elke operated a world food café opposite Liberation Station at the Esplanade, offering a fusion of international cuisine, including both Asian and Middle Eastern dishes, created with locally sourced, free-range produce. 

In 2019, she opened a beach café in the gardens of the Biarritz Hotel at St Brelade's Bay for three summer seasons while selling soup cleanses during the winter.