You need to have passion in cooking, to serve to be a Chef- Duhalde

Cristian Duhalde is an award-winning chef and restaurateur known for his refined take on Latin American and Spanish cuisine, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu and Intectur. He began his culinary career in 1996 in many countries. He has hosted exclusive dinners at Landmark venues including presidential villa, Aso Rock in Abuja. He spoke with the press in an interview after his masterclass presentation at the 8th edition of the GTCO Food and Drink Festival, held at GTCentre, Plot 1 Water Corporation Drive, Oniru, Victoria Island, Lagos, write Editor Gentechnews, Tony Nwakaegho.

May we meet you, please?

My name is Cristian Duhalde, an award-winning Chef and restaurateur known for my refined take on Latin American and Spanish cuisine.

What attracts you to like working with the children?

I believe in working with the children because at the young age if you care to teach them about this hospitality business, they are likely to store all the information. They are more interested in learning. I believe that it is very good to start teaching with the children’s areas.

It has been about 29 years for you as a chef, what has been your experience?

I consider myself very lucky to choose what I love. Many people follow a career because of their father or mother or when you grow you want to follow someone and eventually you realise it is not yours. In my own case when I went to school it was like 28 people, now we are working like five people. Many people realise that they want to be cooking but don’t like to be Chefs. My own motivation was always my passion. I love to serve and I love to see people always happy with my food. This act is to sit down together and eat.

What is the idea behind Rapa-Nui?

My former restaurant, I carried Rapa-Nui to the Eastern Island before I came to Nigeria. Rapa-Nui is in the middle of the southeastern Pacific. So, one day I got an opportunity to work in the north frontier, so I remembered a bit about Rapa-Nui and I said why can’t I replicate Rapa-Nui here. So, there is a wonderful restaurant with Ocean view. Now that they are making the Lagos- Calabar express way, it is for more benefit for more people than the sacrifice for few to move out from there.

Talking about kids earlier, they were excited and one or two would want to be a Chef in the future. What is your take home to them for those who want to inspire to be a Chef like you?

The first advice that I want to give is that whatever you want to do, do it with love if you want to be a Chef. Second, if you become a chef, you become like a priest and it becomes a commitment with what you want. Sometimes you get tired dealing with people, but you never get tired of cooking. My advice to the new generation that wants to go to school is to try and work in a restaurant for two weeks, three weeks in one hotel or restaurant to see what really the life of a Chef is. There are benefits and if you love what you are doing you will want to be a chef.

You demystified the mystery around the pizza as a lot thought that it was too technical. How long have you been making the pizza?

As an impacting knowledge, you need to learn and you will make it. It is part of the technical knowledge. La Taverna which is a Chile restaurant with pizza. The pizza was there and when the former owner left, they left the pizza and I said, well, we want to make the pizza. Then I have a very good friend from Roma who started to give me more tips like that and that is the foundation of what we are doing. I remember from the beginning when I started to sell pizza, the community would react to say what is this and I will say it is pizza. I believe today it is everything in the restaurants. In Lagos, you have millions of pizzas.

How do you inculcate your experience and artistry in different cultures?

I was very lucky in many countries because we are what we are and when you mingle with different cultures, people will always invite you and that is the beginning of the totality. They want to invite you to the house to see how people are eating and interacting with the family. I think that interaction makes you want to offer what you have. I think that it is a very dynamic interaction group in dealing with everyone. Food is on top of the world when we eat together.