Question (Q) – “So Luis, how did you become a cook/chef?”
Answer (A) – “I started at 17 as kitchen apprentice and developed my skills by learning from every cook/chef with whom I had the opportunity to share work. I continued my training in England because I believe that international training in the culinary sector is very important in order to learn different working techniques in the kitchen, grow professionally and enrich oneself gastronomically.
There I began to mature the idea of setting up my own establishment in Spain where I could develop my signature cuisine designed also for people with problems of food intolerance. The motivation grew day by day due to the recognition and the many gastronomic prizes obtained.
My career culminated this year with the participation in the most important gastronomic event in the world: MADRID FUSION, being a finalist in the preparation of the Spanish Tapa with Negrini high range Italian products.”
Q – “What should be the most important skills, knowledge and attitudes a chef should have?”
A – “For me, the passion, creativity and courage to fully live one’s profession as a chef makes cooking not a job but a way of life. And the effort to always keep improving day after day is a quality and a requisite at the same time.“
Q – “What do you think about the Culinart Project?”
A – “I think it is very interesting to discover and learn about all the techniques and culinary products from around the world, as well as to have an international training as a chef in order to have a global gastronomic experience.
The last expert workshop in Reggio Emilia was very enriching, since the various approaches of the international chefs who were present, as well as the exchange of ideas between all the project partners was very motivating in order to know other ways of working and to elaborate the joint international quialification for CHEF.
Moreover, the project’s piloting stirred a lot of interest here in Spain and there are many people willing to participate in the piloting since it is a great opportunity and it promiss to be a very interesting and beneficial for the trainees. We are looking forward for the final project outputs and we expect the joint VET qualification to be the proper qualification that the chefs deserve and to lead to a fair recognition of the skills and competences of the chef, not as just a cook, but as a leader, creator and innovator …. and an artist!“