Pewien dziennikarz powiedział jej kiedyś, że tańczy lepiej niż gotuje. Na szczęście gotować nie przestała, a nawet z jeszcze większą determinacją tworzy jedzenie, które odzwierciedla ją samą. Ana Roš opowiada o tym, jak to jest być kobietą w kuchni, czy płeć przekłada się na delikatność jedzenia i czy kobiety wciąż muszą udowadniać, że są równie dobre jak mężczyźni. Ana Roš jest Gościem Specjalnym MADE FOR Restaurant w Krakowie 12 kwietnia br. Więcej informacji: http://forsolutions.pl/konferencje-gastronomiczne/made-for-restaurant-krakow-2019/
Men dominate restaurant kitchens. Did you face any problems or challenges when you decided to break into the industry?
There is a funny but deep story from the Cook It Raw event that explains all the colours of it. In 2012, for the last original Cook It Raw session in Poland, I have been invited to make part of that fantastic event as the first female chef ever. It all went wrong: I first missed the plane (including the press conference & co), I was seriously bitten by a dog (he mistook me for a nice fresh piece of meat that I was supposed to cut), I was swimming fully dressed in a kayak which turned around in front of all the journalists and with vodka bottles floating around me. And, finally, cooking the last dinner I was bitten by a bee while cutting beets, getting a huge allergic reaction that needed a doctor. Want more? The gender troubles existed more on the side “can a girl survive boy’s scout camp”, but it all finished with a famous statement of a participating journalist, saying that he loves my dancing abilities more then the cooking ones.
Is there a difference between a male and a female chef?
I do not think it helps a lot to the emancipation of women in the kitchen if we emphasize too much the difference in gender. The truth is, a woman needs to prove she is good and skilled in the kitchen, but so do men. Because at the end of the evening we are all equal in front of the client.
But there is a difference. It has nothing to do with the taste or techniques. It is all about a role of a woman as a mother, as a wife as someone more sensitive with less muscle. How many times did I cry because my plane was leaving at 8 in the morning and my daughter came to my bed sick with high fever – just because I was leaving again. And kitchen homeworks, kitchen sleeps, guests babysitting my children… Or, finally, when your partner asks you when was the last time I saw a hairdresser?
The most sensitive cuisine I ever tasted in my life was from a male chef. I think we manage people in pretty different way. Also, women always tend to create a family feeling. It still happens that people do not believe I can shout. But when I do shout, they really understand I actually can.
Which female chefs do you admire?
I met some fantastic female chefs on the position of head chefs or sous- chefs. You can really understand they can be trusted with a reason. They are as good as their male counterparts – precise, powerful, and full of knowledge. When my sous chef for 16 years, Vladka Cencic, speaks up, everybody is silent… My love goes for a lot of them: Emilly Walden Harris, Shannon Martincic, Lisa Lov (Tigermom), Rosio Sanchez. They still are beautiful, sexy and – women.
How do you balance being a chef and having a family?
It’s challenging but in which working environment is it not challenging today? The fact that Hiša Franko is our home helps, as our children are here with us at all times, sometimes also with me in the kitchen. The fact that Valter works side by side with me also helps, as we have common visions and support each other. We are closed for three-four months a year, so in that period we really focus more on our relationships and ourselves. Our parents live quite close, so logistically it is also easier with everything.
Do you see more female chefs coming into the industry?
It is a slow process. In this moment we need to go over the first teenage romantic perception of it. There is no wars or clubs between the two genders. We all share the same love.
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Ana Roš – słoweńska szefowa kuchni, od najmłodszych lat pasjonatka sportu i podróży, absolwentka międzynarodowego wydziału nauk dyplomatycznych we Włoszech, poliglotka i nie tylko. Sztuki gotowania nauczyła się sama, a kuchnią, oprócz sezonowości i lokalności, chce wyrazić swój charakter, oraz podkreślić kobiecość. Wspólnie ze swoim życiowym partnerem, Valterem Kramarem, prowadzą restaurację Hiša Franko w Dolinie Soczy (Kobraid) na Słowenii. W 2017 Anę Roš nagrodzono tytułem najlepszej szefowej kuchni na świecie według World’s 50 Best Restaurants, a w czerwcu 2018 roku restauracja Hiša Franko znalazła się na 48 miejscu w tym prestiżowym rankingu.
Podczas konferencji MADE FOR Restaurant w Krakowie 12.04 opowie o tym, jak tytuł najlepszej szefowej kuchni na świecie przyczynia się do rozwoju biznesu i czy przynosi on realne, finansowe korzyści dla restauracji.
Bilety dostępne pod linkiem: http://forsolutions.pl/konferencje-gastronomiczne/made-for-restaurant-krakow-2019/
Wywiad pochodzi z materiałów prasowych Any Roš. Zdjęcia wykorzystane we wpisie wykonał Benjamin Schmuck.