Chef Robert ‘Bob’ Mazur has spent the past 30 years in London honing his cooking skills, eventually coming to cook for world leaders and Hollywood stars. In an interview given to TVP World’s Klaudia Sikorska, Mazur spoke of the importance of treating all guests the same, how he progressed from washing pots to cooking for Kevin Costner and Beyoncé, and about what he and his family eat during Easter.
Mazur admits that cooking for celebrities can be a bit stressful but pointed out that “before you start serving this kind of guests, you must have experience.” But he stressed that whoever a chef cooks for, they should approach their job with equal passion.
“We as chefs are treating everyone the same,” adding that perhaps some extra attention is paid to a VIP’s food preferences and allergies. But ultimately “Every chef, whatever [he or she] is putting on a plate, is putting passion [into it] and it must be the same, must be the same in terms of consistent quality.”
The explanation for this is more than simple egalitarianism. It is also a mark of professionalism. Mazur pointed out how customers talk and exchange opinions but also that returning customers should have the same experience if they order the same dish.
Mazur also worked for Gordon Ramsay for six years, something he considers one of his greatest achievements. Both men also at one point worked for another celebrity chef, Marco Pierre White, at a time when Ramsay was White’s sous chef.
Ramsay must have remembered Mazur because at one point TVP World’s guest received a phone call from a headhunter working for Ramsay with an offer to become a head chef at one of the latter's restaurants.
Of course, it takes a long time to run the kitchen at a restaurant owned by one of the best-known chefs in the world. Mazur, who began working in London restaurants with no knowledge of the English language or any experience, stressed that every chef must start with… washing pots.
The position Mazur started in is called a kitchen porter. His ability to work and learn very fast earned him the nickname Speedy Gonzales and attracted the attention of the chef, who taught him how to prepare ingredients, e.g. fish, that the chefs would later use to make food. For Mazur, this was an incredible opportunity to learn at work instead of spending money on going to a chef school. And then, one Saturday night, one of the chefs called in sick, and that meant Mazur got his chance to show what he learned.
According to him, British cuisine is fairly simple when compared to Polish cuisine, which is gaining popularity in the UK. But Mazur was not able to use Polish cuisine as an inspiration in his work until he made it big. As he explained it is head chefs and sous chefs that can develop new recipes, and until one gets to that position, one only cooks what they are told to cook. But once in a position that enables more creative freedom, it requires constant work on improvement.
“You can’t just cook the same way the same style all the time, [...] this is the expectation from guests,” Mazur said.
He admitted that most of the time chefs do not get to enjoy feasting during holidays with their families.
“Usually we are cooking at work,” he said, but happily admitted that this year he will have a rare chance to cook for himself and his family, although the gourmet chef admitted that at his home they like their dishes “very traditional,” eating usual staples such as salad, herring (Mazurek’s favorite), eggs (not too many for health reasons, he stressed), white sausage with onions and chutneys, and traditional Polish Easter cakes, like mazurek and baba.
And although it is the Polish tradition to make much more food for holidays than it is humanly possible to eat, Mazurek, who hates to see food go to waste and sees little point in gorging oneself and then suffering for it, prefers to cook just a little bit of every dish, to be able to try all of them.
“We keep it simple,” he said.
“We as chefs are treating everyone the same,” adding that perhaps some extra attention is paid to a VIP’s food preferences and allergies. But ultimately “Every chef, whatever [he or she] is putting on a plate, is putting passion [into it] and it must be the same, must be the same in terms of consistent quality.”
The explanation for this is more than simple egalitarianism. It is also a mark of professionalism. Mazur pointed out how customers talk and exchange opinions but also that returning customers should have the same experience if they order the same dish.
Mazur also worked for Gordon Ramsay for six years, something he considers one of his greatest achievements. Both men also at one point worked for another celebrity chef, Marco Pierre White, at a time when Ramsay was White’s sous chef.
Ramsay must have remembered Mazur because at one point TVP World’s guest received a phone call from a headhunter working for Ramsay with an offer to become a head chef at one of the latter's restaurants.
Of course, it takes a long time to run the kitchen at a restaurant owned by one of the best-known chefs in the world. Mazur, who began working in London restaurants with no knowledge of the English language or any experience, stressed that every chef must start with… washing pots.
The position Mazur started in is called a kitchen porter. His ability to work and learn very fast earned him the nickname Speedy Gonzales and attracted the attention of the chef, who taught him how to prepare ingredients, e.g. fish, that the chefs would later use to make food. For Mazur, this was an incredible opportunity to learn at work instead of spending money on going to a chef school. And then, one Saturday night, one of the chefs called in sick, and that meant Mazur got his chance to show what he learned.
According to him, British cuisine is fairly simple when compared to Polish cuisine, which is gaining popularity in the UK. But Mazur was not able to use Polish cuisine as an inspiration in his work until he made it big. As he explained it is head chefs and sous chefs that can develop new recipes, and until one gets to that position, one only cooks what they are told to cook. But once in a position that enables more creative freedom, it requires constant work on improvement.
“You can’t just cook the same way the same style all the time, [...] this is the expectation from guests,” Mazur said.
He admitted that most of the time chefs do not get to enjoy feasting during holidays with their families.
“Usually we are cooking at work,” he said, but happily admitted that this year he will have a rare chance to cook for himself and his family, although the gourmet chef admitted that at his home they like their dishes “very traditional,” eating usual staples such as salad, herring (Mazurek’s favorite), eggs (not too many for health reasons, he stressed), white sausage with onions and chutneys, and traditional Polish Easter cakes, like mazurek and baba.
And although it is the Polish tradition to make much more food for holidays than it is humanly possible to eat, Mazurek, who hates to see food go to waste and sees little point in gorging oneself and then suffering for it, prefers to cook just a little bit of every dish, to be able to try all of them.
“We keep it simple,” he said.
Source: TVP World
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