This interview sees Mauricio describing the best moments in his career. His motivation and inspiration when designing one of his delicious dishes and, most importantly, conveying his great sensitivity and passion for his work. Mauricio is constantly evolving. This year he was invited along as an International Juror to the 2nd Edition of Super Chef Panama, with national and international media alike highlighting his participation. He knows the culinary path isn't an easy one, but nothing holds him back because he has unshakeable faith and a clear aspiration: to stand out in the sector he chose and a desire to share everything with the members of his team. This Chef, who is starting to make a big name for himself in Latin American cuisine, states that,...
What made you want to become a chef?
Before discovering cooking, I worked in various different fields, even spending time as a professional nurse - one of the qualifications I acquired before becoming a chef. I was always interested in cooking.
I'm from a family whose timetables never really coincided and, as I attended a school which worked on a double shift, when I got home, the only person to make my lunch was me: so, that is where I began, and suffered my first cuts and burns!
Little by little I was entrapped in the world of gastronomy, until I realised that it was what I really wanted to do for the rest of my life.
What is your first memory of a dish that made you dream?
A Lobster was the first dish that really made me dream. I remember...
What made you want to become a chef?
I didn't make the decision to become a chef. It just kind of happened. I've worked in restaurants and Hotels all my life and its what I do. I never made a conscious decision to choose this as my career. I got my culinary degree after I had been in the industry for awhile.
Who has influenced your cooking style or your philosophy on food?
Cooking style has been influence my chef who is an Italian, he encourage and tech me to work as cook when I was a steward. His influence has helped me a lot in achieving my dream to be successful chef.
What inspires you or where do you get your inspiration from?
I get inspiration from an Italian Chef who was my boss then.
What is your favourite method...
What made you want to become a chef?
Chef is just another title, we all start off as cooks. Since I was little, I've always been in the kitchen and among my people, they teach us to cook. Through a dish, you get to be able to express all your love and passion for the person who will be at your table.
What is your first memory of a dish that made you dream?
My grandmother's 'kibbeh'.
Who has influenced you in your cooking style or philosophy?
My parents. Always eating fresh, healthy produce.
What inspires you? or Where does your inspiration come from?
From the trips I take, my love for my family, sharing things with my friends and eve teaching my students.
What is your favourite culinary method or...
What made you want to become a chef?
I think it was the power of kitchens and farms. When I witness the power of food and how it was so uniting it nature, I wanted to be close to it.
Who has influenced your cooking style or your philosophy on food?
Initially it was about homecoming. Then during my admission at WGSHA in Manipal, it was South Indian cuisine that influenced my cooking style. But, it was always about home cooking that inspired me.
What inspires you or where do you get your inspiration from?
Simple rituals, cooking cooking, seasons and most importantly the spices.
What is your favourite method of cookery or preparation?
I love searing. It helps to give a great texture and restore the moisture’s inside.
What...
What made you want to become a chef?
Cooking with my mother and grandmother; sharing the cooking with my family.
What is your first memory of a dish that made you dream?
A dish that my maternal grandmother always made me when she came back home: Homemade ham in its skin with parsley-infused potato purée.
Who has influenced you in your cooking style or philosophy?
My mother, grandmother and homemade food, always.
To give you an idea, in Spanish terms that would make me more of a Santi Santamaria than a Ferran Adriá.
What inspires you? or Where does your inspiration come from?
Let me quote Albert Einstein: 'Imagination is more important than knowledge'.
That doesn't mean knowledge and studies aren't important, just the opposite!...
What made you want to become a chef?
It was really by chance. I enrolled in the school of catering and tourism to be a hotel manager, but I discovered my passion for cooking, so in the third year I decided to learn more about the subject.
What is your first memory of a dish that made you dream?
The first dish that made me dream was a simple pasta dish with pesto - simple but done perfectly.
Who has influenced you in your cooking style or philosophy?
Well, at first, my parents were my best critics: I always tried to surprise them with little dishes, before asking for their feedback. Secondly, the customers who always encourage you to improve. Lastly, many renowned chefs.
What inspires you? or Where does your inspiration come from?
My creativity keeps...
What made you want to be a head chef?
My father was a chef and we had a restaurant.
What is the first dish that struck a chord with you?
Chicken broth with tortellini.
Who has influenced you in your cooking style or philosophy?
Roger Verger
Who inspires you? Where does your inspiration come from?
The East.
What is your favourite cooking style?
Creative instinct.
What is your favourite ingredient?
Fresh produce from the market.
What is your favourite cooking utensil?
The saucepan.
What materials do you like for your pots and pans?
Any, as long as they are durable.
What would you like to change about the cooking schools? What advice would you give to young chefs?
More techniques...
What made you want to become a chef?
- What made you want to become a head chef?
What made you want to become a head chef?
What made you want to become a chef?
What made you want to become a chef?
I got my taste for pots, pans and new flavours from home. Particularly, from my grandmother's kitchen - her domain, where nobody else was allowed while she cooked.
Well, I was the exception, but that took some time to achieve, a full-on process (me at 6 or 7 years old). Once this process of obtaining my grandmother's trust (just observing her) had been achieved, she finally let me cook. Little by little this desire to keep on learning beyond just what I learnt from my grandmother led to me deciding to study a degree.
What is your first memory of a dish that made you dream?
Undoubtedly El Ceviche. The first time I tried it was thanks to my dad. It delighted my palate, the mixture of acidic...
What made you want to become a chef?
What made you want to become a chef?
I have always liked cooking and seeing my mentor, Gato Dumas, made me want to become a chef.
What is your first memory of a dish that made you dream?
When I worked at Michel Guerard, some quail we prepared with fresh glacé mushrooms... My goodness! I remember the smell of the mushrooms cooking... the textures.... wow...
Who has influenced you in your cooking style or philosophy?
Pierre Gagnière and Hervé This were two very important influences on my cooking style.
What inspires you? or Where does your inspiration come from?
I am inspired by continuous creativity, transformation, architecture and art.
What is your favourite culinary method or...
What made you want to become a chef?
What made you want to become a chef ?
I would say originally it was my mother who inspired me, she is a great home baker and cook .
What made you want to become a chef?
What made you want to become a chef?
What made you want to become a chef?
What made you want to become a chef?
What made you want to become a chef?
It was my mother. I was helping her in the kitchen and that made her and her guests happy.
Who has influenced your cooking style or your philosophy on food?
First and for most , Mum, of course, but also very big influence were my friends who had “suffered” trough my “growing up” and supported me during all my experiments.
What inspires you or where do you get your inspiration from?
My inspiration comes from the unique food products and the love they were grown with.
What is your favourite method of cookery or preparation?
Over a well heated nonstick pan
What is your favourite ingredient?
Black pepper
What is your...
What made you want to become a chef?
From a tender age I always had a proclivity towards desserts and savory food items. I was a chubby boy with a weight of 150lbs by age 14 and it occured to me that eating unhealthy was the main determinant to my current physical position. I was always curious about food but really never fully understood what eating healthy meant to the body and mind. It was my gym instructor who taught me to channel my love for food into a positive incarnation by further studying cooking as a vehicle for nourishing people, making them smile and being responsible for ensuring that they eat healthy and live a clean life style. Few months later I had shed all this extra weight and this grew my self-confidence and dream to pursue...
What made you want to become a chef?
What made you want to become a head chef?
I have a sweet tooth and this is a job in which you can express and open your heart up to the imagination and a profession to share with others and help them enjoy themselves.
What is the first dish you can remember which moved you?
A dish my grandmother made: Roast pheasant cooked over a birch fire. My nose and taste buds continue to remember it even today.
Who has influenced you in your cooking style or philosophy?
Mother Nature and my grandparents.
Who inspires you? Where does your inspiration come from?
Nature, my environment, my limits: for me the key sign of intelligence in any human being. Cooking arises freely in me from the mysterious and...
What made you want to become a head chef?
A passion for flavours, good produce and good food. Also, an interest in playing with flavours and textures.
What is the first dish you can remember which moved you?
Childhood memories: recently-picked chanterelles, sealed simply with butter in the wood-fired oven in the cottage. It's amazing to see the power of a fresh product prepared in such a simple way.
Who has influenced you in your cooking style or philosophy?
Some great chefs, like Gérard Rabaey a former three star who trained me, for example.
Who inspires you? Where does your inspiration come from?
In life, inspiration comes from encounters, trips, the moment... all of which can be conveyed...
What made you want to become a chef?
At first, a need to rediscover my childhood memories through cooking and the various traditions that define my family.
What is your first memory of a dish that made you dream?
When I saw the format for the dishes to participate in the 'Bocuse d'Or'.
Who has influenced you in your cooking style or philosophy?
Primarily, Patagonia and the area in which I live my life.
What inspires you? or Where does your inspiration come from?
The beauty of food and what our awareness allows us to create with it.
What is your favourite culinary method or technique?
Wood-fired grilling.
What is your favourite ingredient?
Thyme and garlic.
What is your favourite cooking utensil?
My hands and my...
What made you want to become a chef?
First of all, I would like to say that I am not a "typical" chef.
My parents run their own restaurant and I was literally born in the kitchen.
It was the only place where I could be them with. After my father died in 1992 (I was 8), my mum decided to close the activity. I never ever thought of working in a restaurant or reopen it again.
But, like always… you never know what will happen next in life. So, one day, my husband said to me that we should reopen the family restaurant, and that my mum would help, but this did not happen.
That´s why I am here, writing this right now. I can say, I started cooking the day we opened our restaurant, exactly the 17th July 2011. As you can imagine my Mum was the person who...
What made you want to become a chef?
My father and two of my uncles where chefs, so i would say its in my blood.
Who has influenced your cooking style or your philosophy on food?
My first head chef Mr Erik Elnan, my childhood and the nature around me.
What inspires you or where do you get your inspiration from?
Mostly travel and eating out in different cities around the world.
What is your favourite method of cookery or preparation?
Sous vide
What is your favourite ingredient?
lemon
What is your favourite kitchen tool?
My mandolin
What is your favourite section in the kitchen to work on during your apprenticeship?
I used to love the cold section
Where you like to eat out?
South Africa, New York, San Sebastian
What would you...
What made you want to become a chef?
My love for good food
Who has influenced your cooking style or your philosophy on food?
Chef Pietro Leemann
What inspires you or where do you get your inspiration from?
My menu take inspiration from season and the seasonal products
What is your favourite method of cookery or preparation?
Steamed
What is your favourite ingredient?
Vegetables
What is your favourite kitchen tool?
My Knife
What is your favourite section in the kitchen to work on during your apprenticeship?
Pastry
Where you like to eat out?
I´ve not a favourite restaurants, more a favourite cooking style
What would you like to see change with the cook schools?
More attention on vegetarianism
Your advice to young...
What made you want to become a chef?
At the end of the day, I think things ran into each other: I was very interested in art; I went to many restaurants from a very young age; over the years, I finally combined the passions which would ultimately turn into my profession.
What is your first memory of a dish that made you dream?
In Chile in the 80s, as I mentioned in the previous question, I went to many restaurants as my parents were fans of them, but there were very few at the time and, generally, the best known were French. But there was one product that marked me for life: urchins!
Who has influenced you in your cooking style or philosophy?
During my studies in New York, where I stayed to work, various people influenced me to a certain extent,...
What made you want to become a chef?
I like pampering people with food and giving them a welcoming feeling.
Who has influenced your cooking style or your philosophy on food?
Nature, I love to cook with local products. Every season I get inspired from the different products.
What inspires you or where do you get your inspiration from?
Also from nature, seasonal products inspire me to work differently. Besides the stage of life I’m in inspires me to create new dishes.
What is your favourite method of cookery or preparation?
I love to work with low temperature cooking. It creates a high level end produce full of flavour.
What is your favourite ingredient?
I like to cook with fish and shellfish
What is your favourite kitchen...
What made you want to become a chef?
Seeing my granfather that was a farmer and my grandmother, a cook, made me whant to become a chef. The autoproduction of everything I serve out to my costumers from raw material I selected made me the chef I´m.
Who has influenced your cooking style or your philosophy on food?
George Cogny: a great cook, my great teacher.
What inspires you or where do you get your inspiration?
I´m inspired by the taste of food, the real food caught from the earth, and my dishes are linked to the earth too.
What is your favourite method of cookery or preparation?
I love make fresh pasta, it´s really relaxing for me.
What is your favourite ingredient?
Vegetables
What is your favourite kitchen...
What made you want to become a chef?
Ever since I was a child, cooking has always seemed magical, an art form... like the way different ingredients are combined, giving rise to different dishes - each of them richer than the last. That inspired me to become a chef.
What is your first memory of a dish that made you dream?
Dal Gosht - a dish my mother made; a lentil with lamb curry that I loved and wanted to learn to make.
Who has influenced you in your cooking style or philosophy?
My mother, obviously. I sat in the kitchen and watched as she made different dishes with distinct flavours every day using the same pots of spices. It was magical for me.
What inspires you? or Where does your inspiration come from?
The products from the market....
You are alone at home with no greater plan than to watch a film. What does a chef like you prepare for dinner?
Normally, if I do not intend to make a big dinner, I tend to go for noodles. I cook them in 1 minute, add a couple of drops of soy and perhaps a courgette if I have one. They are very useful because they can be done in no time. If not, then something out of a tin. Something I like a lot is a cucumber and razor shell salad: a cucumber (peeled and sliced) and tinned razor shells. I add a couple of drops of soy, a couple of sweet chilli sauce, oil and vinegar. I love it.
What is the most important utensil in your kitchen? What can you not do without? (at home, not in your professional life).
A good non-stick pan and a good knife - I have...
What made you want to become a chef?
Crises. Yes, the crisis of wanting to eat well, of knowing that armed with food you can cure, you can heal and you can provide nourishment. Not to forget you can enjoy the creative process and when you donate your work - because that´s what you do - more than money what you earn is the pleasure of seeing the happiness of your diners.
And when I say crisis, it´s because I´ve always liked to eat and when I finished my first degree and it wasn´t what I expected, I consoled myself by cooking - without realising I had found my vocation.
What is your first memory of a dish that made you dream?
My grandmother´s snacks, always imbued with flavours with great history; the tamales - knowing what I...
What made you want to become a chef?
I wanted to create art without being a “starving artist” and although I consider myself to be creative I’m not a particularly good artist.
Who has influenced your cooking style or your philosophy on food?
My greatest influence was my Oma. She loved to cook and bake. You could taste it in everything she created. Nothing ever went to waste and she grew much of what we ate in her garden.
What inspires you or where do you get your inspiration from?
My greatest inspiration comes from others who are as passionate about food as I am.
What is your favourite method of cookery or preparation?
I’m a pastry chef so there is no question; my favourite method of...
What made you want to become a chef?
I fell into cooking whilst at school and it’s been my life ever since.
Who has influenced your cooking style or your philosophy on food?
Dietmar Sawyere was a big influence in my younger years in the kitchen. He taught me to be push boundaries and not rest on my laurels.
What inspires you or where do you get your inspiration from?
Life.
What is your favourite method of cookery or preparation?
I’m a big fan of always trying to evolve the menu so I make a conscious decision not to try and repeat techniques.
What is your favourite ingredient?
I have a real fascination with lichen at the moment, but anything in season is always good to work with and here in New Zealand we are coming into...
What made you want to become a chef?
My passion for food, which was intensely influenced by my family and how much they have always had a passion for anything food related.
Who has influenced your cooking style or your philosophy on food?
My family and my culinary mentors, as well as other industry professionals whose work have inspired me.
What inspires you or where do you get your inspiration from?
It’s a ramdom thing. It comes from everywhere, really. I eat and breathe everything related to what I do. Every time I eat something I like I think about the dish and how it was conceived. Sometimes the inspiration or motivation could come from a specific theme or date, sometimes from someone like my parents, my wife or son. Most times it’s...