BUCĂTARUL CHEF DUMITRU BOICU - ARTIZANII GUSTULUI II. EP 9
This show is supported by METRO, the trusted partner of your beloved places. I like Moldovan cuisine, I really love it. My dishes are simple and easy to understand, but with a special touch. What represents Dumitru is the need to offer healthy food and to choose the ingredients carefully. So we have the boss who feels entitled to give you orders like “Make me a Caesar salad" and that's it! Don't you trust me? Don't worry, I really know how to cook! The Artisans of Taste I didn't choose to be a cook. DUMITRU BOICU, chef Everything in my life arranged itself and I got where I am.
I was good at cooking. I knew what good food meant. I was raised with good food. My grandmother worked in the food industry. I know it sounds commonplace when you hear from chefs that they chose this profession because of their grandmother. But my story is one of them, typical and trivial. Nobody forced me, that's how it was.
During the USSR, my grandmother worked at the bread factory. I began learning how to knead the dough with my grandmother when I was 5 years old. We started baking tea-based cakes. Then we started inventing other things, later my mother joined. I moved to Moscow and continued the work. When I arrived in St. Petersburg, I had no job. The situation was awful, but I was surrounded by so much beauty.
St. Petersburg is an extraordinary city, but back then I couldn't find a job. An acquaintance helped me get hired by a company that produced kitchen utensils. I started organizing culinary workshops there.
I can say that my gastronomic journey/ story began in 2010 in St. Petersburg. Then I worked at "Garçon", a bakery in St. Petersburg where they made tarts and I was in charge of making the dough blanks. And one thing after another led me to to where I am today. I agree with those who say that studies are important. Every job has its own techniques, basic moments,
but in my case it worked out without any formal studies in the field. I was lucky enough to work with some very good chefs, from whom I managed to learn a lot. I was just lucky to learn from some real professionals. And I absorbed everything, I wrote down everything and kept learning. I also gained a lot of experience because I had a great desire to learn new things. For me, all chefs can be classified into two very clear categories.
There are chefs who care a lot about technique. And there are chefs who are just talented, unique. There are chefs who have received the best education, they master the techniques well but they lack uniqueness, talent and sorry, but their food will be cooked according to the recipe, but without a special touch. And there are talented chefs, like diamonds, who even if they are not very technical, they always experiment and try new things.
Nowadays there are no more strict cooking rules. There aren't any defined rules for how to cook an eggplant, for example. Now everyone is experimenting. And eggplant can be cooked in many ways. And there are some real talented chefs, in my view.
If you don't have an education but you have talent and passion you can definitely become a great cook. Vice versa it's also possible, but it's not the same. My food and my dishes have always spoke on my behalf. My education or lack of it has never been an obstacle for getting a job, I let my food speak for me. My dishes are my diploma. It's important to visualize the plate, as you see it because we first eat with our eyes.
Therefore, plating must be done by following certain rules. It's not mandatory and very strict, it's more for international competitions, but it's important. I think I've always been an outsider. Everyone thinks I've got bats in my belfry. Do you remember the fire from the National Philharmonic in Chisinau? This is a piece of wood from the fire.
People rather don't like me. But that doesn't bother me. Initially it bothered me, I blamed my physical appearance, my big nose. But then I realized that I have my own vision of the world, of life, of my own person, which is probably different from that of other people. And that's fine! Dumitru Boicu is a strange guy! OK! For me, that's a compliment. That's who I am.
Polenta - 6 lei, have you seen? Buckwheat - 10 lei, bread - 1 lei. Here you go, this bread seems to have already been eaten by someone. Can someone approach us, someone who is not very shy? I like Moldova because everyone here is shy. Why are people so shy?
"Lentil soup, rice and cabbage salad." "Would you like anything else?" "Yes, for the whole team please." Give me buckwheat and cabbage salad and I'm happy. Let's add a pinch of salt. Oh, and the white bread with yeast and sugar. The canteen is not just about food, first and foremost it's about the atmosphere.
Mmm, it's with unrefined oil. It has that sunflower seeds flavor. That's how we roll. "What is your specialty dish? What is your favorite cuisine?" "Italian, French, Chinese etc. etc.?"
I don't have such a thing! I like Moldovan cuisine, I really love it! And I have an absolutely clear personal touch present in my signature dishes. My dishes are simple and easy to understand, but with a special touch. NATA ALBOT, journalist, producer of "The Artisans of Taste" When Dumitru Boicu appeared on the Chisinau map, with his colorful style, talking in an extremely tasty manner about food and people, I immediately felt the need to meet him, I wanted to taste his food because in the end that's what defines a great cook. I'll always remember the food he served me, It was a hummus in which he put a secret ingredient, I don't know which one, but I'll remember that hummus forever and also an extremely tasty octopus, but the most important thing is how this man looks at you while you're eating his food. This man cares deeply about his customer's impressions, which can't be mimicked. You can express different feelings in words but your facial expressions will always tell the truth, whether the food is good or not.
I ordered a soup, after the first sip I asked the waiter to bring me some salt. EUGENIA BOLDESCU, friend After a few minutes I heard a very indignant voice screaming: "Who needs salt?" My heart skipped a beat, and when I turned around I saw Dumitru looking for the criminal who was dissatisfied with the combination of ingredients on that plate. After a few minutes of dread, we got to know each other. He sat down at our table and explained how everything was meticulously thought out and that even another microgram of salt could ruin this combination.
You eat something and you realize that everything seems clear, you recognize all the ingredients. But at some point you taste something special and you don't understand what it is, but you like it. It's Dumitru Boicu's food. What characterizes Dumitru is the need to offer healthy food and to choose the ingredients carefully, to know their origin, to combine them correctly, and to look very good on the plate because we eat first with our eyes and then with our taste buds. I was born into a family of Russian speakers. We have always spoken Russian.
DUMITRU BOICU, chef I've graduated from a Russian school, but I speak Romanian. Not very well, but I do my best. It seems fair to me to know the language of the country where you live. I was born and raised in the Botanica neighborhood. Our neighborhood was very united. In general, people were more united then. In the Botanica neighborhood there's one yard that was designed by a French architect.
We lived among a community of hearing and speech impaired people. The place was designed by this French architect following the design of a French hill. So you had 4 blocks and between these blocks were placed: an artesian well, a waterfall and two swimming pools. This was a real pool, it was tiled, the water was filtered and we were bathing here all summer.
I didn't have to go anywhere in the summer, I had everything I needed. My grandfather gave me an inflatable mattress and that's how I spent my summers as a child. When I finished school I got a job at a printing house and, at one of the printing houses where I worked as a courier, I noticed they were doing some renovations in the basement, I wondered what were they doing there? I had to go down there and find out.
I found out that they were going to open a nightclub, and not just a nightclub, it was a strip club. I got hired there as a DJ. What was I doing there? From 12 AM to 3 AM I pressed the "Play" and "Pause" buttons, playing music for the club dancers. I usually played something from the band Enigma like "Mea culpa". It was a funny period. I made big money for an 18-year-old boy.
I rented an apartment and moved in to live separately. Then, I thought I should do something more with my life. I bought a one-way train ticket to Moscow. I arrived in Moscow at Kiev train station on December 4, 2001, dressed in a leather coat.
It was snowing and I came to conquer Moscow. I didn't have a job, I slept at the Kiev train station, I washed myself along with the people who lived there. A few days later I bought a big newspaper with ads "Из рук в руки" and I got a job as an animator. Animators are cheerful guys who entertain other people. I got a job there because they offered food and housing. It was convenient. I didn't know the city, the country. I just went there to entertain people, being myself a funny guy.
After two weeks, I started wondering: Why am I doing this? I was a little ashamed, I had to wear a clown hat, a red nose and entertain the children. But nevertheless, I worked in this field for 8 years You'll always find something related to the ring in my menus. The round shape, the shape of the ring, it's like a symbol of infinity. It's like a symbol of continuity and continuous movement, resembling the wheel of time. That's why I have a few rings that are kind of like my business card. Each of my menu items is either related to the ring theme, or is plated in a round shape.
My mother is no longer alive and, in addition to the remaining photos, I kept one thing of hers, a ring. Therefore, the ring is like a tribute to my family and my boundless love for my mother. Just like the ring, which has no beginning or end. Inside this ring is a fresh salmon tartare, capers, red onions, white pepper and olive oil and I can also add basil, fresh cheese, cucumbers, zucchini.
The ring is made of choux pastry. The sauce is made from boiled egg yolks with butter and balsamic vinegar. And all together they create a perfectly balanced bed for the fish.
In short, that's the recipe. Choux ring with salmon tartare and crunchy vegetables Why did I return to Moldova? I don't have any family. They all passed away. There was a series of tragic events. First my grandmother died, then my mother, then my grandfather, and my father was the last one to pass away.
I went through a very hard period of time that I don't really like to remember It was quite dark and emotional, people who went through the same will understand me. It was intense like hell, so intense that it threatened my life.. The hardest part was after my mother passed away. My animation program was supposed to start at 10PM. I was dressed and ready for fun and 5 minutes before the show I got a call from my cousin telling me that my mother had passed away.
And I had to go on stage, to entertain the audience. When that happened, I understood that something had to change in my life. I decided to go back home.
Next I opened the door and asked to see the producer. The Moldovan hospitality with its polenta, sarmale, mititei, canned vegetables, homemade wine. It was something amazing and inspiring! First of all, we must be proud of what has been given to us geographically, our soil.
The Artisans of Taste I came back, I stayed at home for a while then I realized I needed to do something here in my country, otherwise this dark emotional wave would swallow me and God knows what could happen next. I was traveling with trolleybus No. 24 in December when I searched for "Moldovan Television" on my phone. DUMITRU BOICU, chef I found the address of a TV station, arrived at the office and went in to see the producer. Sergiu Scobioală, who was a producer at the time, came out, I introduced myself and told him that I was a chef.
I told him I worked for 15 years in Moscow and suggested to do a project about a chef born in Moldova, who used to work abroad but now decided to return home and rediscover his home country. "We came back but the seller isn't here. Maybe it's Moldovan generosity." "Let's do an experiment and buy some without the seller, we have witnesses around so no one will acuse us of stealing."
And that's how we filmed "Boicu's Kitchen". 2 seasons with 6 episodes each. We filmed the first season, and after receiving funding we filmed the second one. The experience gave me an extraordinary chance to get to know my home country. We explored almost the entire map of Moldova, from South to North and from West to East.
We went from Giurgiulesti up to the northern border. It was a great deal for a man who lived 18 years in Chisinau. I got the chance to explore the entire country. I had the opportunity to discover Moldova not only geographically, but also to discover its people who know how to do amazing things, including in the gastronomic field. And it's not just about the wine, no. It's about cheese, desserts, honey, cider, jams, preserves and bread! "Hello everyone, let's go." "Long live Dionis" This TV adventure with "Boicu's Kitchen" gave me wings and I understood that I succeeded.
Everyone welcomed us, served us delicious food and poured us plenty of wine. It was Moldovan hospitality with polenta, sarmale, mititei, canned vegetables, and homemade wine. It was an amazing and inspiring experience. I am very proud of this project. When you work for someone, you have to respect a business balance, because the history of restaurants in the world is a history of business.
People invest money in this business and expect to have a profit. And customers are the ones who bring money in. You have to think about them. I have always managed to maintain this commercial balance and keep my vision as a chef.
I've discovered that our menus weren't dictated by our customers, on the contrary, through our menus we formed the entourage around us. There is no such thing in a regular segment of hospitality industry in Moldova We have the director, who gives you money and says “Make me a Caesar salad and that's it!". And the cook while having his own vision or attitude agrees to do everything as he is told.
I have not had such thing in my career. And if someone tries to impose some system on me, I feel like they don't trust me. "I know how to cook, just leave me alone with your money." So you make a dish, put it on the menu for 2-3 weeks and draw your conclusions.
Did the customers like it? Great! They didn't? Remove the recipe from the menu and try something new. A good restaurant owner must trust the chef. And good chefs will always strive to do their best.
My gastronomic experience in Chisinau was not a very complicated one. Probably because I have character and principles. I am open, communicative, I know how to listen and accept criticism Not all chefs, due to their pride, are able to accept criticism.
It bothers me when I'm criticized, but I'm open and I know how to listen to people's wishes. All chefs need inspiration. DUMITRU BOICU, chef Sometimes you can get inspired by walking through the central market, other times walking through the Louvre. It's simply interesting and necessary for expanding one's horizons. To see how other artists perceive the world.
Painters, sculptors, potters - they all have their own vision of the world. And it's important to broaden your horizons to understand what's going on in the art world. My favorite art gallery from Chisinau is "Brâncuși". It's old, it needs to be renovated, in winter it's kind of cold and you have to keep your coat on.
But it's impregnated with so much talent! You can find many extraordinary paintings and sculptures there. I love the Brâncuși exhibition center, it's the place where I can go look for inspiration. I would like to finish writing my cookbook, which I am writing now. I already have all the necessary materials, I just need to find a good food photographer who will complete it with beautiful photos.
Of course I would like to open my own place. Small, comfortable, with a wonderful atmosphere, with very tasty and not expensive dishes. Dumitru is the person we really need in the hospitality industry from Moldova. NATA ALBOT, journalist, producer of "The Artisans of Taste" Because we don't really have chefs who can tell stories, chefs who are not afraid of the public, chefs who talk to people, to customers and ask them how they feel. And I would really love to see him fulfilling his dream.
To open his own restaurant and be an example for his colleagues. The chef doesn't have to be an anonymous person behind the restaurant the chef must be the star of the restaurant, the attraction of the place, that magnet that will make people come to that restaurant looking for the chef and his cooking skills. Dumitru Boicu is the colorful man who cooks tasty food and who has one more job to do, to open his own place. It may sound strange, but I'd like to fly into space. Really!
I hope that in about 10 years space tourism will not be so expensive and you will not have to sell a kidney to fly into space. I would like to see the Earth from space. I want to feel gravity. And in general, to fly farther from Earth.
This is a dumpling filled with halva, in memory of my grandfather, who spent much of his life working at the oil processing plant. At home we always had sunflower oil, halva and fish bait. That's why halva for me means the taste of childhood. I adore it and will never get tired of eating it. I always have either halva or halva roll in my fridge. I adore the flavors related to Halva.
In general, it is a classic dough for chicken soup noodles. Inside it has a filling made of halva, whipped cream and mascarpone. Boil everything in thyme and lemon peel flavored water. In a pan caramelize some seasonal fruits, in this case we used peaches and pears, but you can also use apples or any other fruit.
I used caramelized peaches and pears, fresh blueberries in combination with lemon, thyme and halva. It's a very interesting interpretation of simple dumplings. Dumplings with Halva Our nation needs unity, and for that it needs reasons of pride and solidarity. First of all, we must be proud of what has been offered to us geographically - our soil.
You can stick a dry branch in the soil and it will flourish and give fruit. We are an agricultural country, we've been working the land for centuries, we respect it. Good food starts with good products. It's a golden rule! Some people emigrate, but there is a certain percentage of people who love this country and want to do something for it. The people are the foundation of this country. The Artisans of Taste
2021-12-06 11:17
