Ionuț Crișan: "tradițional cred că este cuvântul care descrie identitatea gastronomică românească, dar acest tradițonal să fie șlefuit"

More than ten years ago, when you only saw a handful of chefs on TV, I realized that there are thousands in the country and that some of them are very good but have no promotion. I looked them up and wrote about them. With many I remained friends, with some even at the buckle. Now, through this initiative supported by The Bogdan domain and National Federation of Certified Tasters, I somehow go back to the beginning and try to promote a new generation of chefs with potential or who are already performing. They are chefs today, but many of them will be the great chefs of tomorrow. Today Ionuț Crișan, from Cluj, recommended by Horia Șimon, and whom I follow on social media with interest.

Cwhen and how did you start, where did you work (especially important places) and who did you learn from?

I started the kitchen in 2014, at home, in my hometown, Simleu Silvaniei. I started as a dishwasher and cook's helper (I don't empathize with this phrase often used as a form of indulgence - personally it seems to me as correct and organic as possible to start in this way, although unfortunately the opposite is also practiced - decreasing ).

Over the years, I have worked in the kitchens of several renowned restaurants, such as: Charlie; NAZ Restaurant; SAGE Bistro; Samsara Foodhouse; And so on With others we had beautiful, punctual collaborations: Nativ Restaurant; Jules Sibiu; Fragment; And so on

The chefs who made me see the kitchen the way I see it today I can say with love that they are: Horia Simon (he always guided my steps towards a "clean" world of the kitchen); Louis Alfonso (one of the oldest chefs I worked with abroad, but also one of the most energetic and full of positivism and gastronomic culture); and others.

What level are you at now? What did you major in?

At the moment, I want to believe that I am at a good to very good level, but I would not want to abuse my current position either. There is still room to forge the bone and the mind.

How do you progress in the kitchen, how long does it take you to level up?

Returning to the phrase above, the most correct way to advance in the kitchen and not only, is to start from scratch. I believe that by going through all the stages, you can discover your true face and what you want to be. I wouldn't know exactly how long it takes you to move from one position to another. What I strongly believe is that it is good to be fulfilled with what you are doing at the moment and not to count the time that passes just for the sake of reaching higher. You might be the perfect man in a lower position, which needs a good mood and well seen. You can be an extraordinary dishwasher for a whole life, to be part of a long-term, successful project.

How much school/how much practice. What you will never learn in school/courses. What does school help you with?

School for a lifetime, practice ditto!

Probably what we will never learn at school would be humanity in the kitchen and bowing our heads when we make mistakes. But let's let the pride rest, let it die. Otherwise, it spoils just like a good fat cream, but kept warm. And look, that's how you realize that things in the kitchen are taken gradually, constantly learning, something that helps you become better day by day.

Where do you work or what are you currently doing + future plans?

I currently work as a chef and project manager on the gastronomy side for De la Ferma cu Omenie, a cheese factory in Unirea, Jud. White.

As for future plans, I would like to take them gradually, but I know that I want to finish a doctorate at the faculty where I studied, to then take over the newly established gastronomy laboratory and give my passion to others eager young people.

How do you see the state of HoReCa in Romania in 2023. What should we change?

I don't necessarily feel in a position to criticize or praise what is happening in HoReCa at present. But I know that we also have discrepancies at the level of thinking when it comes to our gastronomy.

I tend to think that a restaurant owner should start from the same principle as an honest chef: on a growing thread - and here I summarize the fact that a minimum of entrepreneurship knowledge in the field would probably be needed, no only money and power.

Have you cooked Romanian food outside the country? In what context and what feedback did you have (including for the staff table)?

I cooked in different contexts and different countries. Probably the most remarkable experience was when I represented Romania as a youth, within the organization Slow Food Youth Network in Germany in Munich, where I cooked a balm with Romanian products, representing my country in front of over 60 participants from 17 European countries.

I tend to think that the feedback was amazing, as long as the experience was taken over by the German press and described with pomp and honor to me and my country.

What do you think the Romanian gastronomic identity should look like??

I believe that our identity should be at the level of art wherever one of our chefs steps. Whether it is in the country or abroad.

We should bring out the best we have locally and turn it into gold. But at the same time, let's keep a touch of tradition in everything we do. Yes, I think "traditional" is the word that describes the Romanian gastronomic identity - but this "traditional" should be refined in its own way by every chef who has the opportunity to do it.

What would you say about the older chefs you worked with?

I wouldn't hold anything against them. I would thank them instead. As they were, they were part of my career, with good and bad.

What do you prefer: old Romanian kitchen/grandmother's or modernized?

I prefer modern Romanian cuisine, but with the taste of grandma's. And if it's possible to transpose myself to the old times from then at the level of sensation, aromas, textures.

What would your restaurant look like? What about the menu?

I have always had an affinity for suris, small and classic rooms, coquettish and colorful rooms. This is how I think the idea of my restaurant would start, if I ever started to do it - I would put together elements from our folklore and polish them in detail. It would smell like "new old" and sound like "old new". The same with the menu.

What current world trends do you follow/like?

Although I am not vegetarian or vegan, I follow veganism as a current world trend. Probably also due to the fact that vegetables fascinate me and what they can offer.

What accounts you follow; what books do you recommend

I follow the Noma philosophy, and everything that means a top restaurant in the world.

I recommend books by chefs who had a say worldwide.