March 20, 2023 • 37 mins
linktr.ee/voyatraspodcast
Join us in this episode as we talk to Vojtech Vegh, a chef and global advocate for sustainability in gastronomy.
In this interview, Vojtech shares with us about his journey from his culinary education in Slovakia to working in London's bustling food scene, to opening the World's First Zero Waste Restaurant in Cambodia. He talks about the challenges he faced in the industry and how his passion for sustainability pushed him to become a "fugitive chef."
Today, Vojtech consults restaurants, gives lectures, and helps people in the restaurant industry to make sustainable choices through his project Surplus Food Studio. He also talks about what it's like to be his own boss and the factors that influenced his decision to become an entrepreneur. Vojtech is also the author of the book Surplus: The food waste guide for chefs
If you're interested in learning more about sustainable food practices and how you can make a difference, this podcast is for you. Don't miss out on Vojtech's insights and experiences as a chef and global voice for sustainability in gastronomy. Tune in now!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
when you go and eat out
(00:01):
like eating out is a privilege
like being able to pay someone to cook your food
and serve it and sit on someone else's chair and table
and someone else's space is a privilege
I think the plastic should go up
I don't think that everyone
should be able to afford eating out
I don't think it's something that automatically
you are entitled to eat out
(00:21):
when you decided
it's something more to look at like okay
like if I can afford that
maybe I'll go out once a week or something
so I save up for it or I make my budget for it
that's different
like if you're just going to eat out
just simply because you're hungry
and I want to grab something
like then you go for a takeaway
or for a food truck or something that has a
very lower cost of running and of cost of business
(00:42):
so they can afford better prices
but it shouldn't be compared to a major
when you see that restaurant
I am all for raising prices and making higher margins
welcome to the first English episode of Boyatrus
(01:04):
our Fugitive Chef today
and the voice you heard right now is Ytek Weg
from Slovakia
Vojtech is one of the major global voices
of the sustainability movement in gastronomy
in this episode
he shares with us about his initial
years in the restaurant industry
and how he has now switched to a career
path that he always wanted
a path that permits him to be his own boss
(01:24):
and also one that he is very passionate about
welcome to the podcast Voyatraz Weitech
and please if you could
tell us a little about yourself
and what is it that you do today as a fugitive chef
trying to focus on sustainability
as the stool for change within gastronomy
thanks for the come
so yeah my name is a boy
chick vague
and I'm a 0 western brand based chef
so at the moment
(01:45):
I spoke and said I'm doing a lot of work
in terms of sustainability and food waste
and how to reduce that
and how to apply everything in a commercial setting
that's where I'm coming from
is I have about 13
yeah I think 13 years of experience right now
in the kitchens
it's gonna be a 13 year
used to be working
I've been through multiple restaurants in
(02:06):
pretty much across the world
basically I was
trying to get as much experience as possible
with my early
early years
then later on
I opened my own restaurant
which happened to be the first
vegan and zeros restaurant in the world
that was in Cambodia
back in 2018
yeah well I had to close the restaurant
and then I decided to write a book about that
(02:27):
write a book for chefs
about how they can apply all that
food waste reduction techniques in their restaurants
and ever since
I'm doing consulting courses
workshops master classes
and all kinds of things that help chefs
use their food waste in the restaurant
wow and I mean
much before all the sustainability
factor of things
and how you dives into this
the whole consultation and all of this
(02:49):
if you could just tell us about like
how did you come upon the idea of cooking as a carrier
like is it something in your family
are you coming from a family of chefs
or was it something completely new for you
not at all not at all
it was completely random
I kind of remember
why did I even choose
I think it's just like
most of my classmates went to that
kind of a college from the
(03:11):
from the primary school
so I was like
yeah whatever
I didn't really had
like interest
I was 15 years old
I didn't know what I wanted to do
I actually started as a waiter
at my first year
but I didn't like that at all
that I just moved to the kitchen
it still took me a good few years
to actually start liking what I was doing
(03:34):
mainly because I wasn't
like when you are such a young
when you're doing
like internship
said from school
you have to be lucky to put in a good place
in a good kitchen
and I wasn't one of them
so naturally
I didn't really enjoyed my work
and the places I was going to
so I wasn't really that into it
(03:54):
but it gave me money
so I mean I had society for that
so I was doing it well
it wasn't really until I arrived at like the first
it was a 5 star resort when I was working out
and that's where I seen
people taking food more seriously and actually like
loving cooking and being into that
and it just kind of caught on to me like okay
(04:17):
like the cooking can actually be good
like food is fun
like I like that
and then I just like
kept being hungry for more and more and more
and I was just like looking for more places like that
and basically
like for 10 years or something
I was just focusing on
how to get as much experience as possible in our sleep
the time as possible
so it's like
going for experience after experience after experience
(04:38):
basically is
there isn't any connection to food from my family side
or anybody that does
not remotely interested in food and cooking
or being a chef or running a restaurant
so that's a
yeah I kind of started that
wow and like what was
what is school
like culinary school
like is there culinary school
or is it more like hospitality what is
(04:59):
what is the system in Slovakia bad
yeah this is bad inside here for that
because it's really behind
like I don't have any
thing nice to say about the system
is like yeah
unfortunately
of the states that the government run schools
and then saturize
it's not great
it's not great
and I definitely did not learn how to cook in a school
(05:21):
there's no way
yeah I think that doesn't change
like that doesn't change across countries
we speak to everybody
and like culinary school still remained to be
like I studied hotel management
and my cooking was 4 hours a week
and mostly it was just doing French cooking
for some reason
in a corner of India
how is that in Slovakia
like what kind of food do you learn
(05:42):
in terms of the school
it's the kind of food that you would be served in a pub
like 35 years ago
like no one's cooking that food anymore
like back then when I was in school
that's 15 years ago
it was like that
now I did some work with schools lately
last year and I know that
(06:04):
okay like obviously there have been some changes
but it's still not like
you will actually learn how to cook
you might learn the basics
but you got to be pretty hungry and pretty on it
and knowing that you want to do that
to actually learn something
they won't be convincing you
that this is the right spot for you
like if you don't know that
and most people don't at that age
when you are 15 and 16
(06:24):
then you just gonna lose interest in that
like I was really bad at school
like bad bad
I I almost didn't fail it
multiple times
I had to repeat the entire year
and you know like I was
I was a disaster in the school
like I had no interest being there
I didn't even show up most of the time
I missed like
half of the year
of the school year
(06:45):
but I have always
without a fault
always shows up
for the internships
I like to be in the kitchen
I did not miss one of that
I always showed up
because I like to be in a kitchen
I like to show up
I like to do my job properly and beware
and I like to be accountable
and being responsible for what I'm doing
and you know what
I said that I gonna do
so if I say I'm gonna show up
(07:06):
I gonna show up
that doesn't apply to the classes though
like if that was a classic
I was not showing off
for sure like
how would they go anywhere
but not this film
I think we have all made way different
I think that there are many people who like more
the academic
theoretical part
and then some of us just like the practical part
that's why it's
I think it's very difficult to design a course
like one size fits all
(07:26):
I think we are all so different
that but yeah
I hope nobody
no young students
are watching or listening
to this to motivate them
but then if somebody's listening
and thinks they're doing bad at school
it's a good lesson that
look where white tech is today
you don't really have to be
you don't have to
be stuck to
all those standards
by the school
and like what was your
I mean did you have any exposure
(07:47):
like do you think Slovakian food has changed
in the past 15 years
that you started in the industry
and now look today
when you go out dining
yeah yeah yeah
it did change
it did change for sure
because I wasn't in Slovakia
I basically left
Slovakia right after
I didn't even finish my school
at the moment
I was still 8 I was 18
I was freshly 18
when I left Slovakia
I just basically
(08:07):
came back to finish the school
and left again
and didn't show up for another 10 years
or something
before I came back to Slovakia
I was coming from
visiting my family
but I never stayed in Slovakia until 2019
that was my first year
that I came back to live in Slovakia
so it was actually
yeah it was actually
10 years out of country
and when I came back
I really wasn't sure what to expect
like we went from Brachislava
(08:28):
from the capital city
I was not aware of
any good restaurants
me in my head
like Slovakia
was like cheap
fried pop food
and like home cooked meals
Lambo dishes and etc
I was really
really pleasantly surprised
how many great
and fire dining restaurants
have showed up in Bratislava
in the meantime
so that was one of the present surprises
(08:49):
that I've seen
that there are actually people
and by now there's lots of chefs
and lots of new restaurants popping up
who are doing this kind of
new cooking of
like a Slovakian
classical dishes
but you know
like represented
in their own way
and cook differently
and I think it's really fine
that I really like it
and I'm really into that
because I think
that the food is
it's hard to say
(09:10):
what is a specific
so like you know
food is very similar to the neighboring countries
you know it's
like a mix of
check the Polish
the Hungarian
it's like something in between
you know like
lots of potatoes
lots of cabbage
lots of flour
and yeah we love bread and stuff
and but but
there is many things
that you can do it after
like turn it into something interesting
and by now it certainly has changes
(09:30):
and that definitely
a young student
has way more opportunities now
than I had when I was a student
wow and considering that
you entered this
as I understand
by chance like
entering the industry and like
just following
your friends
and going to the school
did you have any
expectation of
what will you be doing
like I know
the first year
you thought
(09:50):
you're a waiter
but before starting
did you think like
what is a daily
restaurant life like
and what did you find
when you finished
with your first few jobs
not really because
there wasn't much responsibility
to the interns
so basically
I was standing by the table
doing a repetitive job
and it was like
a really really
(10:12):
backwards kitchen
like there wasn't
kind of a school
dancing in kind of
a restaurant
but I had no idea
like before that
before I went to
it was in Greece
when I was 18
that was my first experience
I have never traveled
I never traveled before
I had no idea
what restaurant
looks like or
(10:33):
what the professional kitchen
would look like
outside of Slovakia
so 0 exposure to that
that's why I was very
kinda caught off guard
when I went into that
massive kitchen
of a 5 star resort
with multiple
outlets I was like
the size of the kitchen was like
you know what
it's like half of the school
basically like
there was like
50 or 60 chefs
(10:54):
or something
cooking for like
the different
outlets plus
a beach restaurant
you know and
the bottom etcetera
and it was a hotel
restaurant so I
I still had no idea
about Alucard
serving and
the traditional
way the restaurants
are being done
so basically
that was like
just cooking
cooking cooking
cooking and like
never really
like serving
you know but
well that's
(11:14):
changed soon after
and I was really
surprised of
how fast paced
the kitchen can be
yeah yeah and
and like could you just
run us through
a little about
like what are the first places
you worked at
where did you travel
more or less
what kind of food
did you work with
in the picnic
I started Mediterranean
so I went to
Greece twice
that was 2 internships I did
like I was still in the
(11:35):
college at the time and
yeah I love that
and then I always
wanted to go to England
so my next step
was to get myself to England
in some way
it was easy
to get a job
in England as a chef
I already had a
like some decent experience
I was I think
I was 19 yeah
I went to England
it was like
this kind of
an upscale pop food
(11:58):
very busy like super busy
and that was my first exposure to like
seeing a pass and seeing a service and like seeing the
the distribution of the dishes and like
there's so much going on
I definitely Learned a lot about the system and like
how to help to set up my station
essential I think
I had no idea about before
(12:19):
and after that I just
I was just like
kind of kept fishing jobs
mostly in England
it was kind of like me like saving up in England
I went off for a few months to travel
I used to go a lot to Asia and Malaysia and Instagram
and it was always me like going away
I was doing seasonal jobs too
so I would be
I spent like combined the 67 years in England
(12:41):
running back and forth
would always take the season
I just in England
with the season ends I go travelling to Asia
maybe pick up some other
maybe go to internships too
and some later on
I would be picking up internships that let me shine
stars on the etc
and then I'm going back to work
but it was mostly
I will describe as modern European food
it's basically still what I'm doing to this day
(13:03):
I like I like what we have in Europe not
go boiling it down to a particle cuisine
but mostly like
staying on the modern side of the things
and with the ingredients available in this
in here oh wow
that's very interesting
because I have
I have heard of a few people
who would do these seasonal jobs
and then saving up and traveling
but I have actually not met personally some
(13:23):
somebody who has or tried it for myself
I think it's a
it's also a very alternative career
I think it doesn't make you bound to one
one place for a long time
and I think it's a
it's a lovely way
at least at the beginning of the career
to get this exposure
you know hey man
I was doing it until I because actually when I was
when I was getting jokes
like in full time jobs I would
I would always quit
like after 67 months or something
(13:45):
anyway it's not because the place was bad
but I was just like
so curious to see something else
and I was like
like I always felt like there is so little time
and so many things to do
so I would be just like
running from place to place
and then I figured out my seasonal jokes
like that really works for me
like you show up in March
and you know that you're living in a server
like you know that
so you can already be planning
(14:06):
what you're gonna do in the winter
you know how much money you have
and you can come back in March if you want
but that's like
it was perfect lifestyle for me back then
my dad was back in England
mostly yeah
I think it's also like
a very new model of
like I think it's also one problem
that the restaurant industry is facing today
because I think it's used to
this whole era of chefs who used to
or cooks or any occupation actually
(14:27):
where people used to stay
like our father's generation
or grandfather's generation
they used to stay with one job
and retire in that job
and then live that penetion
but I think this model house changing
especially in a business like ours
where it really
you working
someplace the first month
and working the 12th month
you are much more valuable
because you know so much about the menu already
(14:49):
so I think it's a classic problem
that the industry is facing
because many of us don't want to be at one place
for we don't see it
like I remember
people used to see it as a very big thing
to be loyal and faithful
and be for so long
but I think it's not some value we associate
necessarily with anymore
I'm not a good employee
I always see you
at least you're honest
(15:10):
I think that's a good contract
contract work
because at least you are honest
you promised to stay that much
and you commit to it
I mean it's a beautiful
aspect actually
and then like
when did this thought come
like all through working for restaurants and traveling
when did this thought come there
because I understand today
you do not do a service every day
or go to a restaurant every day
(15:30):
if you could just tell us like
what are you doing today
like what does your day look like today
my day wisely
different everyday
cause sometimes
I travel I travel
started traveling after the COVID ended finally
so I can travel for work too
and most of the time
I work from home
from my laptop basically
which is kind of unusual for a chef
but that is so much
(15:52):
it was a dream
but I spent so much time on laptop
that I don't want to be here anymore
I miss cooking
you know I'm gonna go back into the kitchen
and I'm getting back into the kitchen this year so
step by step
but yeah there's so much to do
like you know background
they're like building
basically running my own business
you know it requires me to like
manage all sides of it at the moment so that is
(16:14):
there is lots of that
so it's basically me planning working with clients
creating stuff for them
getting on course and then consulting
and then traveling and trading menus
I spend some sometimes
sometimes I'm in the kitchen for half a day
but only in my home
you know like cooking dishes and like
redesigning recipes and like developing new things
and that's what about
that's about
(16:34):
that's about like
majority of the things that I do right now are
one of those
it's all a combination
and could you tell us about surplus food
what what is it
what is the project about
well surplus was a restaurant
the restaurant was called surplus
I have them kind of involved in the surplus full studio
the sad thing about that is that I started my business
3 days before the lockdown has started in pandemic
(16:57):
oh wow so either plan to open
kind of like a development kitchen studio in Belsislam
that has never happened because of the pandemic
so it's unlocked
it will happen
now I don't even want to do it anymore
a lot of things is going on
luckily from that
basically the surface
what I'm doing
and what we are doing
is providing solutions for chefs
(17:18):
to help to reduce food waste
I am running an online course for chefs
that chefs can sign up for
that is combined with the consulting on one on one
on how to reduce food waste in a professional kitchen
how to write a menu that doesn't create food waste
and then doing master classes and workshops
and that is basically all that
all the businesses
about that amount
well that's amazing I think
(17:39):
because I think it's a very much needed
because I think the kind of business we are in
and the kind of customers we have everyday
and the economics of it
unfortunately
doesn't permit a chef to take time out
and put this effort that you're putting
and actually simplifying the whole
whole process
of the whole sustainability moment
because I remember one of the most beautiful things
I think I heard about sustainability
(18:00):
is that nature doesn't create waste
it's us who
because nature's end product
is always the starting of some other product in nature
it's just us who create
and it's unfortunately such a simple solution
but most of us
I don't know
what do you think
is it ignorance
is it too much work
or is it just because people don't want to do it
not enough knowledge
(18:20):
they don't know
and there is a bad perception of thing
that it will
that any change will take you more time
it's difficult
nah I don't want to do it
I did it that way for 20 years now
don't make me change that
no reason to not change
you know like
if I was doing some stupid shit for 20 years
that doesn't mean that I'm never gonna change it right
yeah it's a logical fallacy
(18:40):
yeah and and
and how do you see this movement
because I see sustainability at large
what's happening in the world
and I'm like
with fingers crossed
hoping that it's not a trend
because what I'm seeing a lot of people doing
sustainability
is also making it very gimmicky and trendy
because it is something which people are aware about
and people are asking questions
(19:01):
you think it's a trend
or it's going to stay for a while
now it cannot be a trend
because if you pursue it as a trend
then it gonna make you close down at one point
that you just
you just gonna run yourself bankrupt
because if you gonna keep wasting food
and run in a non logical way
that you are wasting the main product
that you are selling
then you gonna have hard time surviving in business
especially now
(19:22):
well everything is up
and the customers are harder to get
and all the money issues
and the supplier issues and everything
if anyone pursues this as a trend
it's bad for them
but you will see this and hear this more and more
but what I'm actually thinking is that
maybe you won't be hearing it
(19:43):
that there is like
more 0 waste restaurants and etcetera
because what also I'm working for
and what I'm trying to achieve is that
you won't have to label the restaurants as 0 waste
because it will be the standard
like it will be
the normal operation is 0 waste
it's 0 blood
so you don't need to highlight it all
be a 0 waste
this is where I'm trying to get the online
to change the old background of the new standards
(20:04):
basically like
how the industry is working and was working
so you don't need to compete in sustainability
and that's a try
you can just like
basically upgrade your system
make it work better
make it simplify
make you make more money from it
because the financial sustainability
is just as important
as their environmental sustainability
of course I think this is also like
the last point you said right now
is something which I think a lot of people miss out
(20:26):
because I mean
if the sustainability model
is not creating the economy to support the model
it's a failure
because many people I've seen who are like
just for example
you know you make almond milk
and the almond
leftover pomace
you want to make an ice cream with
but if it requires 20 hours more of your works
(20:47):
work stuff and you're not paying them for it
or you're not being able to afford that
I do not know what is more sustainable
it needs to run a sustainable system
so basically
when you are writing your menu
and you are making homemade almond milk
because I'll be making
like hundreds of videos of how to make them
so if you're making a homemade almond milk
and you need almond milk for one recipe
(21:08):
then at that point
you need to know where that almond
leftover will go to
so if you got
if you will
make cookies from them
and our milk goes wherever you wanted to
now we have 2 essential products
basically exactly
there is no
you do not have byproduct
because if it's an extra item
then that is where it takes extra time
(21:30):
but if it's an essential part of your mission class
and another recipe
then there is no such thing as not having time for that
like you just do a misena pass right
there is no such thing as
I can't do what you gotta cook
that is the important part
that it needs to become essential
not an extra step
so it's never
you cannot blame your chef
departies for food waste
(21:50):
you know like
it's the person who writes the menu of course
I think yeah
that's very important to look at
I think I don't know how many restaurants can afford it
but I think when the restaurants start
I think that's the key
or like whenever you plan to change the menu
or the season
I think that's the key to
to set things straight
as you said
to include that as a part of your whole ecosystem
and how do you see like
(22:11):
I see this working very well
for example
the concept you're telling me right now
can work very well for a restaurant
which is like
a mid range restaurant
changing the menu everyday
and working with local producers
what do you think about fine dining
because fine dining
then comes with
1t more of responsibility
of having those standards every day
of having for example
for the almond milk
they want said amount of cookies every day
(22:32):
and a said amount of
milk every day
and they will always be a little UPS and downs
in terms of balance
and in a normal restaurant
you can play with it
but in the fine dining
it's like 20 courses
with 90 covers
how do you how do you work that maths out
the way I was doing at my restaurant
is that I was running the dinners for 5 Dining
they were like 10 course tasting menus
(22:53):
while the lunch was a more casual offering
I even had like a couple sandwiches of soup
and like you know it wasn't like a multi course menu
I could offer daily specials
and I was doing weekend branches
so if that was such a thing
as I have over produced
a byproduct of another item that I too much of
(23:14):
because you don't have to use it on the same menu
you know that pressure was taken off
I could just work it into the
work it into the latch offering
but I could just work it into the week weekend branches
and I can change it in a moment
so that is basically
and all that was gonna be the daily special
and that's an extra item
but another thing is
you know like
even if you over produce something
(23:34):
the 0 waste in the food waste reduction
is never about the actual 0
like you never gonna have real 0
you always gonna have like 5%
10% or something
it's important to focus on what creates the majority
of the waist
and if there is a handful of a summer created
then like whatever
well make sure that the majority of the
there was the biggest production
and that creates the largest stream of the waste
(23:56):
then that has to be eliminated
and if there is like
a handful of parsley stock or something in the end
then you worry about that later
but always start from the top
yeah I mean
that's beautiful
I think it's
the key to all of this
is the intention of at least the person who's
in charge of these changes
and the intention and the philosophy
has to be from the beginning
that it has to be one of your core values
(24:19):
if not I think it's very difficult to meet
all these aspects
what do you think about sustainability yes
like the way you're applying it is
by doing consultations with restaurants and everything
how do you see sustainability at large
like do you think it should have been
for example
a part of your hospitality education
or a part of your primary education
all these basic
(24:39):
because mostly things are basic today
when I ask somebody
what is composting
something so basic
most people don't know
what is the essence of composting
how do you see that structure
working on that to get that into school
yeah to all of them
I mean that absolutely has to start at the beginning
(25:00):
it does not make sense to educate
4050 year old chefs about that continuously
always focusing on them
you at some point you have to start at the beginning
like you have to look at like
what are they actually teaching kids in the school
because that that's
that's where
where when it all starts
and that is a very long process and lots of approvals
(25:24):
but getting there
maybe halfway there
so see how that turns out
and that would be a major achievement
yeah to get something like that in the school
oh I had honestly no idea
and that's that's so
that's something so key
and I'm glad to hear you're doing
you're doing something like that
what about I would just
(25:45):
I just wanted to know
for all the listeners out here who are either
if somebody is like
considering to do something that you've done
maybe in some other field
of having a job which permits you to say
work from home or to say
have days where you're extremely busy
and have days where you're not so busy
and permits you to a lot more other academic fields
just and just not being in a restaurant
how do you see yourself
(26:06):
like leaving aside all the sustainability aspect
how do you see your life
like your personal work life balance
so things like this
compared to say
10 years ago
doing in London
all these contract stints
how has that changed much
it's much better
because you know like
I always wanted to work for myself
I always had this kind of entrepreneur mind of like
having my own time and being flexible and work
(26:28):
what I absolutely hate is showing up at 9 a m
and leaving at 9 p m
and that's it
my summer is giving me a schedule
I really have a hard time working like that
I have a child
and I have a girlfriend
and you know like
I want my time at home
and if something changes in my misery
I want to be able to do it now
I'm creating my own schedule
(26:48):
so that is the biggest upside for me
of all that
but this is what I always wanted
it's I love being in a kitchen
and working in restaurants and cooking food and etc
but the problem is that
I have to show up on a certain schedule every day
and that just does not work with my lifestyle
and the way that I want to live my life
so yeah so it's very interesting
(27:10):
and do you think it's like
I mean there's always like
everybody keeps repeating that
there's always a sacrifice in terms of being a cook
although you could mean
I think the only thing which can make a cook
stay in the kitchen is passion
I think there is no other
there's no economic motivation
there is no life motivation
there is I mean
of course there's personal growth and
and stuff in carrier
but do you think this is always going to be like this
(27:33):
like being a cook is a sacrifice
which is not in so many jobs
where you don't have to sacrifice so much to
just earn your daily bread
there is you know
there is like lots of restaurants
especially very high profile restaurants right now
we were changing into like
4 day work week and 88 hour days
and that's a Charlie giving more times of like
a 40 hour work week in a kitchen
(27:53):
I cannot imagine that because I never had it and
but I wouldn't mind trying that out
how it would work
but I mean it will be essential at one point
because otherwise how are you gonna have restaurants
who's gonna be working in them
you don't see many like 50 or 60 year old chefs
I mean what 4045
and then you're out
(28:14):
or you take an office position
or like executive or something you know
but you're not gonna be running the past when you're 60
this is there is not many chefs who does
who is doing that
so there's definitely some change need to come
or something need to happen
I don't know what is the answer to that
what is the right way
maybe it's a shorter days
or less opening days during the week or
(28:35):
I think we gotta find out pretty soon because there is
many restaurants are taking that direction
so I'm pretty excited about that though
to see like how we will finally change
because that's been like
the biggest thing that puts off the young people
of entering the kitchen
like you don't want to work 18 hours a day every day
you know like you might do it for some time
but that's not why I started the Leo
so if that will be eliminated
(28:55):
then I'm excited to see the future
yeah I mean
I think the retention rate in this industry is just
I mean so low because people keep jumping ships so fast
and these are people who are
just they just seeing that what is being demanded
is not acceptable
and also the people demanding it
also don't have a solution for it
do you think
like considering you having traveled in a
(29:17):
through London
being in Grace
bring in Slovakia right now
do you think
the price all of us are paying
doesn't have to be a fine dining
the price we are paying for a mid range
restaurant in Spain
I can say a restaurant which is
I'm paying €30 a cover is a mid range
is mid range restaurant
and do you think the price we are paying today
is it correct does this have to
(29:39):
increase in order to accommodate all these demands of
the work life balance
you know when you go and eat
out like eating out is a privilege
like being able to
pay someone to cook your food
and serve it and sit on someone else's chair and table
in someone else's
space is a privilege
and you should pay for that
(29:59):
I think that the food
should get more expensive in restaurants
there should be higher margins
restaurants are barely
financially sustainable
with such a thin margin that they have most of them
you know I think the prices should go up
I don't think that everyone
should be able to afford eating out
I don't think it's something
(30:20):
that automatically
you are entitled to eat out when you decide to
it's something more to look at like okay
like if I can afford that maybe I go out once a week
or something
so I save up for it
or I make my budget for it
that's different
like if you're just going to eat out
just simply because you're hungry
and I want to grab something
like then you go for a takeaway
or for a food truck or something
(30:40):
that has a very lower cost of running
and of course
to business
so they can afford better prices
but it shouldn't be compared to a major investor
so I'm all for raising prices and making higher margins
yeah I mean
I think it's all like
the whole voice of the industry has been recently
and I hope we see this change soon
because I think before I entered this industry
(31:01):
say say 10 years ago
there was all these long work hours and everything
and then when I started working
there was this whole culture of people saying that
you know what
I have worked 18 hours for 20 years
so why can't you work
because today I'm at a good place
but finally like
yeah that's
that's so classic
and it's been
it's been running through
but actually
I'm very happy to say
finally like
(31:22):
in the past 23 years
what I've been seeing is
nobody uses this excuse anymore
and the people who are now at management positions
have also faced this
so is this whole change of age happening
and people actually realizing that
unfortunately
nobody knows the solution
but I do not
see anybody who is willingly doing anything evil
having free interns
or any of these problems
I don't think it's willingly done by anybody
(31:44):
I think there's a lot of
yeah a lot of questions
unfortunately
I'm curious to see
how this will turn out in a 5 or 10 years
yeah do you think
I mean I think it's a very global problem also
do you think the solution for this
coming from just education
or coming from restaurants
or coming from government bodies
the legal system maybe is not prepared for this
(32:05):
where do you see this change coming from
in the next few years
well I think they always be the individuals
the government is always the slowest part of the things
they are always the last one
to catch up on what's actually happening
so you're gonna have these like
infrastructure restaurants
the high profile restaurants are very well known
it's gotta be kind of lead
that's what I think
gonna be kind of leading the change
like they always did
(32:26):
in other parts of the industry as well
in other terms
so maybe they were like
sent like a new standard
like look that's working for us
like go and try to copy that too
and because other restaurants
we naturally do that
like trying to do the same way
like if it works for them then they
they gonna try it on their own
and I think like
you know if it's gonna
there's gonna be enough places
you can kind of go with the standards
then maybe at some point
(32:46):
the government gonna catch up like
or actually some free change
but I think it's like
it's up to the small businesses of course
and if you had to just list
like a few things
in terms of the sector you work with now
sustainability
what do you think
like I mean
you're already offering the tools
to people who want to make this change
what are you as
I mean today
(33:06):
you are a businessman who is running a business
revolving around this concept
what do you see are your first challenges
in today's day and age
with what is available
why are people not taking that
making the choice that you're offering them
I think it's because of the perception that
that's what I feel is
that is the biggest thing
it's like I would compare it to veganism
(33:28):
you know like
when you say you are vegan it's it
there is this negative label
immediately
with that word
you can you say
plant based is even
even better
well vegan is a bad
saying like
reduce your food waste
like you've been listening to that for like
past 20 years or something
everyone having that
this is the 3 basic tips
after his food waste
and you know
(33:49):
all the basic things
that you can't even apply in a provisional kitchen
so people kind of became immune
to actually listening
to real solutions
because now everything
in their eyes and perception
everything is in the same bag
like yeah whatever
just leave me alone
I know what I'm doing
yeah I can't do that
there's always gonna be waste
(34:09):
and I don't know
I don't have time for this
and we don't have money for
we don't budget
you know like
all this kind of things
I think this is the biggest one
if that changes
if there's gonna be more and more businesses
who are successfully
as big ones
and major ones
and in different types of
restaurants and hotels
and what not
if there is actually
show that look
we are running
in that system
(34:29):
and it perfectly works for us
didn't cost us nothing
basically is only saving us money
and no time extra
then again the changes slowly come
like slowly
they're gonna be looking at that
of how they can change
how they can adapt
but that's always
the smallest businesses
the fastest to change
you know because
you make decision today you can
you can change tomorrow
it's not like
big businesses
(34:49):
they have a
more systematic change
needed than
you know yeah
I think it's
this change is inevitable
it is gonna come
it's just I think it's a matter of
yeah a matter of time
when this happens
looking back
today Whitetec
when you decide
when you made this plunge
that you know
it's not easy to say that
okay I will
start my own restaurant
or okay I'm gonna start my own studio
and 2 days later
COVID comes
which nobody could predict
(35:12):
uh were there any fears
that you know
I have not done
for example
I'm not a graduate in
life cycle study
or sustainability
environment
I've not studied in the UN
and attended climate change conferences
because many people
I think have
amazing and brilliant ideas like yours
but they hesitate a lot
because the world
shows you that
you have to
academically
(35:32):
prove yourself or be
I don't know
40 years old
and then you can actually
cause you're young
you have been a cook
all your life
how do you make this switch
what motivated you
to make the switch
to be like autonomous
like from working from somebody
to work for yourself
how do you make that
what are the fears you face
and how do you
reason it out
but I always jump into deep water
(35:53):
and the low
swimming there
you eat a failure swim right
if you fail
then you start again
so you always gotta have some fear that
like I have fears doing new things
have something like
there's some big things going up this year and like
naturally you have some respect for them and fear
but it doesn't mean that's not a reason to not act
(36:14):
or to not learn
like that was always my only way of
how did I actually became better and like
learn something new
but you jump into the deep water and like
swim or swim or dive
I'm like I love the perspective
I think yeah
risk is a big factor
many people see a risk like
very negative
but yeah I mean
what's the worst thing that can happen
(36:34):
exactly exactly
you you fail
you're gonna mess it up
and then what
you start again
no that's a great perspective
I think anybody listening to this needs to hear this
that you know
as you said
there's nothing worse that could happen than failing
which is not as bad either
to fail at something
you fail and you always start again
if you really want to do that
then you're just gonna look at like
(36:55):
what did you go wrong
and then you just gonna go from there
like there is no way that everything gonna go right
all the time
of course oh no
lovely white tech
I think I'm gonna use this as a queue to
end this podcast over here
I think it's a beautiful thought
to leave people inspired
and yeah I mean
thank you so much for such a short notice
being a guest on the podcast
and I hope you had a great time
(37:16):
too yeah yeah
I mean thanks
thanks a lot for watching man
that was a good job
thank you thank you
so that's it
from this week's episode of Boy Address
a podcast where we bring to you
the voice of the fugitive chefs
if you like listening to these interviews
do subscribe to us
so that you do not miss out on any of these episodes
you can also find us on Instagram and YouTube
as Boyathras podcast
(37:37):
we release new episodes every Tuesday
alternating between English and Spanish
when you go and eat out
(00:01):
like eating out is a privilege
like being able to pay someone to cook your food
and serve it and sit on someone else's chair and table
and someone else's space is a privilege
I think the plastic should go up
I don't think that everyone
should be able to afford eating out
I don't think it's something that automatically
you are entitled to eat out
(00:21):
when you decided
it's something more to look at like okay
like if I can afford that
maybe I'll go out once a week or something
so I save up for it or I make my budget for it
that's different
like if you're just going to eat out
just simply because you're hungry
and I want to grab something
like then you go for a takeaway
or for a food truck or something that has a
very lower cost of running and of cost of business
(00:42):
so they can afford better prices
but it shouldn't be compared to a major
when you see that restaurant
I am all for raising prices and making higher margins
welcome to the first English episode of Boyatrus
(01:04):
our Fugitive Chef today
and the voice you heard right now is Ytek Weg
from Slovakia
Vojtech is one of the major global voices
of the sustainability movement in gastronomy
in this episode
he shares with us about his initial
years in the restaurant industry
and how he has now switched to a career
path that he always wanted
a path that permits him to be his own boss
(01:24):
and also one that he is very passionate about
welcome to the podcast Voyatraz Weitech
and please if you could
tell us a little about yourself
and what is it that you do today as a fugitive chef
trying to focus on sustainability
as the stool for change within gastronomy
thanks for the come
so yeah my name is a boy
chick vague
and I'm a 0 western brand based chef
so at the moment
(01:45):
I spoke and said I'm doing a lot of work
in terms of sustainability and food waste
and how to reduce that
and how to apply everything in a commercial setting
that's where I'm coming from
is I have about 13
yeah I think 13 years of experience right now
in the kitchens
it's gonna be a 13 year
used to be working
I've been through multiple restaurants in
(02:06):
pretty much across the world
basically I was
trying to get as much experience as possible
with my early
early years
then later on
I opened my own restaurant
which happened to be the first
vegan and zeros restaurant in the world
that was in Cambodia
back in 2018
yeah well I had to close the restaurant
and then I decided to write a book about that
(02:27):
write a book for chefs
about how they can apply all that
food waste reduction techniques in their restaurants
and ever since
I'm doing consulting courses
workshops master classes
and all kinds of things that help chefs
use their food waste in the restaurant
wow and I mean
much before all the sustainability
factor of things
and how you dives into this
the whole consultation and all of this
(02:49):
if you could just tell us about like
how did you come upon the idea of cooking as a carrier
like is it something in your family
are you coming from a family of chefs
or was it something completely new for you
not at all not at all
it was completely random
I kind of remember
why did I even choose
I think it's just like
most of my classmates went to that
kind of a college from the
(03:11):
from the primary school
so I was like
yeah whatever
I didn't really had
like interest
I was 15 years old
I didn't know what I wanted to do
I actually started as a waiter
at my first year
but I didn't like that at all
that I just moved to the kitchen
it still took me a good few years
to actually start liking what I was doing
(03:34):
mainly because I wasn't
like when you are such a young
when you're doing
like internship
said from school
you have to be lucky to put in a good place
in a good kitchen
and I wasn't one of them
so naturally
I didn't really enjoyed my work
and the places I was going to
so I wasn't really that into it
(03:54):
but it gave me money
so I mean I had society for that
so I was doing it well
it wasn't really until I arrived at like the first
it was a 5 star resort when I was working out
and that's where I seen
people taking food more seriously and actually like
loving cooking and being into that
and it just kind of caught on to me like okay
(04:17):
like the cooking can actually be good
like food is fun
like I like that
and then I just like
kept being hungry for more and more and more
and I was just like looking for more places like that
and basically
like for 10 years or something
I was just focusing on
how to get as much experience as possible in our sleep
the time as possible
so it's like
going for experience after experience after experience
(04:38):
basically is
there isn't any connection to food from my family side
or anybody that does
not remotely interested in food and cooking
or being a chef or running a restaurant
so that's a
yeah I kind of started that
wow and like what was
what is school
like culinary school
like is there culinary school
or is it more like hospitality what is
(04:59):
what is the system in Slovakia bad
yeah this is bad inside here for that
because it's really behind
like I don't have any
thing nice to say about the system
is like yeah
unfortunately
of the states that the government run schools
and then saturize
it's not great
it's not great
and I definitely did not learn how to cook in a school
(05:21):
there's no way
yeah I think that doesn't change
like that doesn't change across countries
we speak to everybody
and like culinary school still remained to be
like I studied hotel management
and my cooking was 4 hours a week
and mostly it was just doing French cooking
for some reason
in a corner of India
how is that in Slovakia
like what kind of food do you learn
(05:42):
in terms of the school
it's the kind of food that you would be served in a pub
like 35 years ago
like no one's cooking that food anymore
like back then when I was in school
that's 15 years ago
it was like that
now I did some work with schools lately
last year and I know that
(06:04):
okay like obviously there have been some changes
but it's still not like
you will actually learn how to cook
you might learn the basics
but you got to be pretty hungry and pretty on it
and knowing that you want to do that
to actually learn something
they won't be convincing you
that this is the right spot for you
like if you don't know that
and most people don't at that age
when you are 15 and 16
(06:24):
then you just gonna lose interest in that
like I was really bad at school
like bad bad
I I almost didn't fail it
multiple times
I had to repeat the entire year
and you know like I was
I was a disaster in the school
like I had no interest being there
I didn't even show up most of the time
I missed like
half of the year
of the school year
(06:45):
but I have always
without a fault
always shows up
for the internships
I like to be in the kitchen
I did not miss one of that
I always showed up
because I like to be in a kitchen
I like to show up
I like to do my job properly and beware
and I like to be accountable
and being responsible for what I'm doing
and you know what
I said that I gonna do
so if I say I'm gonna show up
(07:06):
I gonna show up
that doesn't apply to the classes though
like if that was a classic
I was not showing off
for sure like
how would they go anywhere
but not this film
I think we have all made way different
I think that there are many people who like more
the academic
theoretical part
and then some of us just like the practical part
that's why it's
I think it's very difficult to design a course
like one size fits all
(07:26):
I think we are all so different
that but yeah
I hope nobody
no young students
are watching or listening
to this to motivate them
but then if somebody's listening
and thinks they're doing bad at school
it's a good lesson that
look where white tech is today
you don't really have to be
you don't have to
be stuck to
all those standards
by the school
and like what was your
I mean did you have any exposure
(07:47):
like do you think Slovakian food has changed
in the past 15 years
that you started in the industry
and now look today
when you go out dining
yeah yeah yeah
it did change
it did change for sure
because I wasn't in Slovakia
I basically left
Slovakia right after
I didn't even finish my school
at the moment
I was still 8 I was 18
I was freshly 18
when I left Slovakia
I just basically
(08:07):
came back to finish the school
and left again
and didn't show up for another 10 years
or something
before I came back to Slovakia
I was coming from
visiting my family
but I never stayed in Slovakia until 2019
that was my first year
that I came back to live in Slovakia
so it was actually
yeah it was actually
10 years out of country
and when I came back
I really wasn't sure what to expect
like we went from Brachislava
(08:28):
from the capital city
I was not aware of
any good restaurants
me in my head
like Slovakia
was like cheap
fried pop food
and like home cooked meals
Lambo dishes and etc
I was really
really pleasantly surprised
how many great
and fire dining restaurants
have showed up in Bratislava
in the meantime
so that was one of the present surprises
(08:49):
that I've seen
that there are actually people
and by now there's lots of chefs
and lots of new restaurants popping up
who are doing this kind of
new cooking of
like a Slovakian
classical dishes
but you know
like represented
in their own way
and cook differently
and I think it's really fine
that I really like it
and I'm really into that
because I think
that the food is
it's hard to say
(09:10):
what is a specific
so like you know
food is very similar to the neighboring countries
you know it's
like a mix of
check the Polish
the Hungarian
it's like something in between
you know like
lots of potatoes
lots of cabbage
lots of flour
and yeah we love bread and stuff
and but but
there is many things
that you can do it after
like turn it into something interesting
and by now it certainly has changes
(09:30):
and that definitely
a young student
has way more opportunities now
than I had when I was a student
wow and considering that
you entered this
as I understand
by chance like
entering the industry and like
just following
your friends
and going to the school
did you have any
expectation of
what will you be doing
like I know
the first year
you thought
(09:50):
you're a waiter
but before starting
did you think like
what is a daily
restaurant life like
and what did you find
when you finished
with your first few jobs
not really because
there wasn't much responsibility
to the interns
so basically
I was standing by the table
doing a repetitive job
and it was like
a really really
(10:12):
backwards kitchen
like there wasn't
kind of a school
dancing in kind of
a restaurant
but I had no idea
like before that
before I went to
it was in Greece
when I was 18
that was my first experience
I have never traveled
I never traveled before
I had no idea
what restaurant
looks like or
(10:33):
what the professional kitchen
would look like
outside of Slovakia
so 0 exposure to that
that's why I was very
kinda caught off guard
when I went into that
massive kitchen
of a 5 star resort
with multiple
outlets I was like
the size of the kitchen was like
you know what
it's like half of the school
basically like
there was like
50 or 60 chefs
(10:54):
or something
cooking for like
the different
outlets plus
a beach restaurant
you know and
the bottom etcetera
and it was a hotel
restaurant so I
I still had no idea
about Alucard
serving and
the traditional
way the restaurants
are being done
so basically
that was like
just cooking
cooking cooking
cooking and like
never really
like serving
you know but
well that's
(11:14):
changed soon after
and I was really
surprised of
how fast paced
the kitchen can be
yeah yeah and
and like could you just
run us through
a little about
like what are the first places
you worked at
where did you travel
more or less
what kind of food
did you work with
in the picnic
I started Mediterranean
so I went to
Greece twice
that was 2 internships I did
like I was still in the
(11:35):
college at the time and
yeah I love that
and then I always
wanted to go to England
so my next step
was to get myself to England
in some way
it was easy
to get a job
in England as a chef
I already had a
like some decent experience
I was I think
I was 19 yeah
I went to England
it was like
this kind of
an upscale pop food
(11:58):
very busy like super busy
and that was my first exposure to like
seeing a pass and seeing a service and like seeing the
the distribution of the dishes and like
there's so much going on
I definitely Learned a lot about the system and like
how to help to set up my station
essential I think
I had no idea about before
(12:19):
and after that I just
I was just like
kind of kept fishing jobs
mostly in England
it was kind of like me like saving up in England
I went off for a few months to travel
I used to go a lot to Asia and Malaysia and Instagram
and it was always me like going away
I was doing seasonal jobs too
so I would be
I spent like combined the 67 years in England
(12:41):
running back and forth
would always take the season
I just in England
with the season ends I go travelling to Asia
maybe pick up some other
maybe go to internships too
and some later on
I would be picking up internships that let me shine
stars on the etc
and then I'm going back to work
but it was mostly
I will describe as modern European food
it's basically still what I'm doing to this day
(13:03):
I like I like what we have in Europe not
go boiling it down to a particle cuisine
but mostly like
staying on the modern side of the things
and with the ingredients available in this
in here oh wow
that's very interesting
because I have
I have heard of a few people
who would do these seasonal jobs
and then saving up and traveling
but I have actually not met personally some
(13:23):
somebody who has or tried it for myself
I think it's a
it's also a very alternative career
I think it doesn't make you bound to one
one place for a long time
and I think it's a
it's a lovely way
at least at the beginning of the career
to get this exposure
you know hey man
I was doing it until I because actually when I was
when I was getting jokes
like in full time jobs I would
I would always quit
like after 67 months or something
(13:45):
anyway it's not because the place was bad
but I was just like
so curious to see something else
and I was like
like I always felt like there is so little time
and so many things to do
so I would be just like
running from place to place
and then I figured out my seasonal jokes
like that really works for me
like you show up in March
and you know that you're living in a server
like you know that
so you can already be planning
(14:06):
what you're gonna do in the winter
you know how much money you have
and you can come back in March if you want
but that's like
it was perfect lifestyle for me back then
my dad was back in England
mostly yeah
I think it's also like
a very new model of
like I think it's also one problem
that the restaurant industry is facing today
because I think it's used to
this whole era of chefs who used to
or cooks or any occupation actually
(14:27):
where people used to stay
like our father's generation
or grandfather's generation
they used to stay with one job
and retire in that job
and then live that penetion
but I think this model house changing
especially in a business like ours
where it really
you working
someplace the first month
and working the 12th month
you are much more valuable
because you know so much about the menu already
(14:49):
so I think it's a classic problem
that the industry is facing
because many of us don't want to be at one place
for we don't see it
like I remember
people used to see it as a very big thing
to be loyal and faithful
and be for so long
but I think it's not some value we associate
necessarily with anymore
I'm not a good employee
I always see you
at least you're honest
(15:10):
I think that's a good contract
contract work
because at least you are honest
you promised to stay that much
and you commit to it
I mean it's a beautiful
aspect actually
and then like
when did this thought come
like all through working for restaurants and traveling
when did this thought come there
because I understand today
you do not do a service every day
or go to a restaurant every day
(15:30):
if you could just tell us like
what are you doing today
like what does your day look like today
my day wisely
different everyday
cause sometimes
I travel I travel
started traveling after the COVID ended finally
so I can travel for work too
and most of the time
I work from home
from my laptop basically
which is kind of unusual for a chef
but that is so much
(15:52):
it was a dream
but I spent so much time on laptop
that I don't want to be here anymore
I miss cooking
you know I'm gonna go back into the kitchen
and I'm getting back into the kitchen this year so
step by step
but yeah there's so much to do
like you know background
they're like building
basically running my own business
you know it requires me to like
manage all sides of it at the moment so that is
(16:14):
there is lots of that
so it's basically me planning working with clients
creating stuff for them
getting on course and then consulting
and then traveling and trading menus
I spend some sometimes
sometimes I'm in the kitchen for half a day
but only in my home
you know like cooking dishes and like
redesigning recipes and like developing new things
and that's what about
that's about
(16:34):
that's about like
majority of the things that I do right now are
one of those
it's all a combination
and could you tell us about surplus food
what what is it
what is the project about
well surplus was a restaurant
the restaurant was called surplus
I have them kind of involved in the surplus full studio
the sad thing about that is that I started my business
3 days before the lockdown has started in pandemic
(16:57):
oh wow so either plan to open
kind of like a development kitchen studio in Belsislam
that has never happened because of the pandemic
so it's unlocked
it will happen
now I don't even want to do it anymore
a lot of things is going on
luckily from that
basically the surface
what I'm doing
and what we are doing
is providing solutions for chefs
(17:18):
to help to reduce food waste
I am running an online course for chefs
that chefs can sign up for
that is combined with the consulting on one on one
on how to reduce food waste in a professional kitchen
how to write a menu that doesn't create food waste
and then doing master classes and workshops
and that is basically all that
all the businesses
about that amount
well that's amazing I think
(17:39):
because I think it's a very much needed
because I think the kind of business we are in
and the kind of customers we have everyday
and the economics of it
unfortunately
doesn't permit a chef to take time out
and put this effort that you're putting
and actually simplifying the whole
whole process
of the whole sustainability moment
because I remember one of the most beautiful things
I think I heard about sustainability
(18:00):
is that nature doesn't create waste
it's us who
because nature's end product
is always the starting of some other product in nature
it's just us who create
and it's unfortunately such a simple solution
but most of us
I don't know
what do you think
is it ignorance
is it too much work
or is it just because people don't want to do it
not enough knowledge
(18:20):
they don't know
and there is a bad perception of thing
that it will
that any change will take you more time
it's difficult
nah I don't want to do it
I did it that way for 20 years now
don't make me change that
no reason to not change
you know like
if I was doing some stupid shit for 20 years
that doesn't mean that I'm never gonna change it right
yeah it's a logical fallacy
(18:40):
yeah and and
and how do you see this movement
because I see sustainability at large
what's happening in the world
and I'm like
with fingers crossed
hoping that it's not a trend
because what I'm seeing a lot of people doing
sustainability
is also making it very gimmicky and trendy
because it is something which people are aware about
and people are asking questions
(19:01):
you think it's a trend
or it's going to stay for a while
now it cannot be a trend
because if you pursue it as a trend
then it gonna make you close down at one point
that you just
you just gonna run yourself bankrupt
because if you gonna keep wasting food
and run in a non logical way
that you are wasting the main product
that you are selling
then you gonna have hard time surviving in business
especially now
(19:22):
well everything is up
and the customers are harder to get
and all the money issues
and the supplier issues and everything
if anyone pursues this as a trend
it's bad for them
but you will see this and hear this more and more
but what I'm actually thinking is that
maybe you won't be hearing it
(19:43):
that there is like
more 0 waste restaurants and etcetera
because what also I'm working for
and what I'm trying to achieve is that
you won't have to label the restaurants as 0 waste
because it will be the standard
like it will be
the normal operation is 0 waste
it's 0 blood
so you don't need to highlight it all
be a 0 waste
this is where I'm trying to get the online
to change the old background of the new standards
(20:04):
basically like
how the industry is working and was working
so you don't need to compete in sustainability
and that's a try
you can just like
basically upgrade your system
make it work better
make it simplify
make you make more money from it
because the financial sustainability
is just as important
as their environmental sustainability
of course I think this is also like
the last point you said right now
is something which I think a lot of people miss out
(20:26):
because I mean
if the sustainability model
is not creating the economy to support the model
it's a failure
because many people I've seen who are like
just for example
you know you make almond milk
and the almond
leftover pomace
you want to make an ice cream with
but if it requires 20 hours more of your works
(20:47):
work stuff and you're not paying them for it
or you're not being able to afford that
I do not know what is more sustainable
it needs to run a sustainable system
so basically
when you are writing your menu
and you are making homemade almond milk
because I'll be making
like hundreds of videos of how to make them
so if you're making a homemade almond milk
and you need almond milk for one recipe
(21:08):
then at that point
you need to know where that almond
leftover will go to
so if you got
if you will
make cookies from them
and our milk goes wherever you wanted to
now we have 2 essential products
basically exactly
there is no
you do not have byproduct
because if it's an extra item
then that is where it takes extra time
(21:30):
but if it's an essential part of your mission class
and another recipe
then there is no such thing as not having time for that
like you just do a misena pass right
there is no such thing as
I can't do what you gotta cook
that is the important part
that it needs to become essential
not an extra step
so it's never
you cannot blame your chef
departies for food waste
(21:50):
you know like
it's the person who writes the menu of course
I think yeah
that's very important to look at
I think I don't know how many restaurants can afford it
but I think when the restaurants start
I think that's the key
or like whenever you plan to change the menu
or the season
I think that's the key to
to set things straight
as you said
to include that as a part of your whole ecosystem
and how do you see like
(22:11):
I see this working very well
for example
the concept you're telling me right now
can work very well for a restaurant
which is like
a mid range restaurant
changing the menu everyday
and working with local producers
what do you think about fine dining
because fine dining
then comes with
1t more of responsibility
of having those standards every day
of having for example
for the almond milk
they want said amount of cookies every day
(22:32):
and a said amount of
milk every day
and they will always be a little UPS and downs
in terms of balance
and in a normal restaurant
you can play with it
but in the fine dining
it's like 20 courses
with 90 covers
how do you how do you work that maths out
the way I was doing at my restaurant
is that I was running the dinners for 5 Dining
they were like 10 course tasting menus
(22:53):
while the lunch was a more casual offering
I even had like a couple sandwiches of soup
and like you know it wasn't like a multi course menu
I could offer daily specials
and I was doing weekend branches
so if that was such a thing
as I have over produced
a byproduct of another item that I too much of
(23:14):
because you don't have to use it on the same menu
you know that pressure was taken off
I could just work it into the
work it into the latch offering
but I could just work it into the week weekend branches
and I can change it in a moment
so that is basically
and all that was gonna be the daily special
and that's an extra item
but another thing is
you know like
even if you over produce something
(23:34):
the 0 waste in the food waste reduction
is never about the actual 0
like you never gonna have real 0
you always gonna have like 5%
10% or something
it's important to focus on what creates the majority
of the waist
and if there is a handful of a summer created
then like whatever
well make sure that the majority of the
there was the biggest production
and that creates the largest stream of the waste
(23:56):
then that has to be eliminated
and if there is like
a handful of parsley stock or something in the end
then you worry about that later
but always start from the top
yeah I mean
that's beautiful
I think it's
the key to all of this
is the intention of at least the person who's
in charge of these changes
and the intention and the philosophy
has to be from the beginning
that it has to be one of your core values
(24:19):
if not I think it's very difficult to meet
all these aspects
what do you think about sustainability yes
like the way you're applying it is
by doing consultations with restaurants and everything
how do you see sustainability at large
like do you think it should have been
for example
a part of your hospitality education
or a part of your primary education
all these basic
(24:39):
because mostly things are basic today
when I ask somebody
what is composting
something so basic
most people don't know
what is the essence of composting
how do you see that structure
working on that to get that into school
yeah to all of them
I mean that absolutely has to start at the beginning
(25:00):
it does not make sense to educate
4050 year old chefs about that continuously
always focusing on them
you at some point you have to start at the beginning
like you have to look at like
what are they actually teaching kids in the school
because that that's
that's where
where when it all starts
and that is a very long process and lots of approvals
(25:24):
but getting there
maybe halfway there
so see how that turns out
and that would be a major achievement
yeah to get something like that in the school
oh I had honestly no idea
and that's that's so
that's something so key
and I'm glad to hear you're doing
you're doing something like that
what about I would just
(25:45):
I just wanted to know
for all the listeners out here who are either
if somebody is like
considering to do something that you've done
maybe in some other field
of having a job which permits you to say
work from home or to say
have days where you're extremely busy
and have days where you're not so busy
and permits you to a lot more other academic fields
just and just not being in a restaurant
how do you see yourself
(26:06):
like leaving aside all the sustainability aspect
how do you see your life
like your personal work life balance
so things like this
compared to say
10 years ago
doing in London
all these contract stints
how has that changed much
it's much better
because you know like
I always wanted to work for myself
I always had this kind of entrepreneur mind of like
having my own time and being flexible and work
(26:28):
what I absolutely hate is showing up at 9 a m
and leaving at 9 p m
and that's it
my summer is giving me a schedule
I really have a hard time working like that
I have a child
and I have a girlfriend
and you know like
I want my time at home
and if something changes in my misery
I want to be able to do it now
I'm creating my own schedule
(26:48):
so that is the biggest upside for me
of all that
but this is what I always wanted
it's I love being in a kitchen
and working in restaurants and cooking food and etc
but the problem is that
I have to show up on a certain schedule every day
and that just does not work with my lifestyle
and the way that I want to live my life
so yeah so it's very interesting
(27:10):
and do you think it's like
I mean there's always like
everybody keeps repeating that
there's always a sacrifice in terms of being a cook
although you could mean
I think the only thing which can make a cook
stay in the kitchen is passion
I think there is no other
there's no economic motivation
there is no life motivation
there is I mean
of course there's personal growth and
and stuff in carrier
but do you think this is always going to be like this
(27:33):
like being a cook is a sacrifice
which is not in so many jobs
where you don't have to sacrifice so much to
just earn your daily bread
there is you know
there is like lots of restaurants
especially very high profile restaurants right now
we were changing into like
4 day work week and 88 hour days
and that's a Charlie giving more times of like
a 40 hour work week in a kitchen
(27:53):
I cannot imagine that because I never had it and
but I wouldn't mind trying that out
how it would work
but I mean it will be essential at one point
because otherwise how are you gonna have restaurants
who's gonna be working in them
you don't see many like 50 or 60 year old chefs
I mean what 4045
and then you're out
(28:14):
or you take an office position
or like executive or something you know
but you're not gonna be running the past when you're 60
this is there is not many chefs who does
who is doing that
so there's definitely some change need to come
or something need to happen
I don't know what is the answer to that
what is the right way
maybe it's a shorter days
or less opening days during the week or
(28:35):
I think we gotta find out pretty soon because there is
many restaurants are taking that direction
so I'm pretty excited about that though
to see like how we will finally change
because that's been like
the biggest thing that puts off the young people
of entering the kitchen
like you don't want to work 18 hours a day every day
you know like you might do it for some time
but that's not why I started the Leo
so if that will be eliminated
(28:55):
then I'm excited to see the future
yeah I mean
I think the retention rate in this industry is just
I mean so low because people keep jumping ships so fast
and these are people who are
just they just seeing that what is being demanded
is not acceptable
and also the people demanding it
also don't have a solution for it
do you think
like considering you having traveled in a
(29:17):
through London
being in Grace
bring in Slovakia right now
do you think
the price all of us are paying
doesn't have to be a fine dining
the price we are paying for a mid range
restaurant in Spain
I can say a restaurant which is
I'm paying €30 a cover is a mid range
is mid range restaurant
and do you think the price we are paying today
is it correct does this have to
(29:39):
increase in order to accommodate all these demands of
the work life balance
you know when you go and eat
out like eating out is a privilege
like being able to
pay someone to cook your food
and serve it and sit on someone else's chair and table
in someone else's
space is a privilege
and you should pay for that
(29:59):
I think that the food
should get more expensive in restaurants
there should be higher margins
restaurants are barely
financially sustainable
with such a thin margin that they have most of them
you know I think the prices should go up
I don't think that everyone
should be able to afford eating out
I don't think it's something
(30:20):
that automatically
you are entitled to eat out when you decide to
it's something more to look at like okay
like if I can afford that maybe I go out once a week
or something
so I save up for it
or I make my budget for it
that's different
like if you're just going to eat out
just simply because you're hungry
and I want to grab something
like then you go for a takeaway
or for a food truck or something
(30:40):
that has a very lower cost of running
and of course
to business
so they can afford better prices
but it shouldn't be compared to a major investor
so I'm all for raising prices and making higher margins
yeah I mean
I think it's all like
the whole voice of the industry has been recently
and I hope we see this change soon
because I think before I entered this industry
(31:01):
say say 10 years ago
there was all these long work hours and everything
and then when I started working
there was this whole culture of people saying that
you know what
I have worked 18 hours for 20 years
so why can't you work
because today I'm at a good place
but finally like
yeah that's
that's so classic
and it's been
it's been running through
but actually
I'm very happy to say
finally like
(31:22):
in the past 23 years
what I've been seeing is
nobody uses this excuse anymore
and the people who are now at management positions
have also faced this
so is this whole change of age happening
and people actually realizing that
unfortunately
nobody knows the solution
but I do not
see anybody who is willingly doing anything evil
having free interns
or any of these problems
I don't think it's willingly done by anybody
(31:44):
I think there's a lot of
yeah a lot of questions
unfortunately
I'm curious to see
how this will turn out in a 5 or 10 years
yeah do you think
I mean I think it's a very global problem also
do you think the solution for this
coming from just education
or coming from restaurants
or coming from government bodies
the legal system maybe is not prepared for this
(32:05):
where do you see this change coming from
in the next few years
well I think they always be the individuals
the government is always the slowest part of the things
they are always the last one
to catch up on what's actually happening
so you're gonna have these like
infrastructure restaurants
the high profile restaurants are very well known
it's gotta be kind of lead
that's what I think
gonna be kind of leading the change
like they always did
(32:26):
in other parts of the industry as well
in other terms
so maybe they were like
sent like a new standard
like look that's working for us
like go and try to copy that too
and because other restaurants
we naturally do that
like trying to do the same way
like if it works for them then they
they gonna try it on their own
and I think like
you know if it's gonna
there's gonna be enough places
you can kind of go with the standards
then maybe at some point
(32:46):
the government gonna catch up like
or actually some free change
but I think it's like
it's up to the small businesses of course
and if you had to just list
like a few things
in terms of the sector you work with now
sustainability
what do you think
like I mean
you're already offering the tools
to people who want to make this change
what are you as
I mean today
(33:06):
you are a businessman who is running a business
revolving around this concept
what do you see are your first challenges
in today's day and age
with what is available
why are people not taking that
making the choice that you're offering them
I think it's because of the perception that
that's what I feel is
that is the biggest thing
it's like I would compare it to veganism
(33:28):
you know like
when you say you are vegan it's it
there is this negative label
immediately
with that word
you can you say
plant based is even
even better
well vegan is a bad
saying like
reduce your food waste
like you've been listening to that for like
past 20 years or something
everyone having that
this is the 3 basic tips
after his food waste
and you know
(33:49):
all the basic things
that you can't even apply in a provisional kitchen
so people kind of became immune
to actually listening
to real solutions
because now everything
in their eyes and perception
everything is in the same bag
like yeah whatever
just leave me alone
I know what I'm doing
yeah I can't do that
there's always gonna be waste
(34:09):
and I don't know
I don't have time for this
and we don't have money for
we don't budget
you know like
all this kind of things
I think this is the biggest one
if that changes
if there's gonna be more and more businesses
who are successfully
as big ones
and major ones
and in different types of
restaurants and hotels
and what not
if there is actually
show that look
we are running
in that system
(34:29):
and it perfectly works for us
didn't cost us nothing
basically is only saving us money
and no time extra
then again the changes slowly come
like slowly
they're gonna be looking at that
of how they can change
how they can adapt
but that's always
the smallest businesses
the fastest to change
you know because
you make decision today you can
you can change tomorrow
it's not like
big businesses
(34:49):
they have a
more systematic change
needed than
you know yeah
I think it's
this change is inevitable
it is gonna come
it's just I think it's a matter of
yeah a matter of time
when this happens
looking back
today Whitetec
when you decide
when you made this plunge
that you know
it's not easy to say that
okay I will
start my own restaurant
or okay I'm gonna start my own studio
and 2 days later
COVID comes
which nobody could predict
(35:12):
uh were there any fears
that you know
I have not done
for example
I'm not a graduate in
life cycle study
or sustainability
environment
I've not studied in the UN
and attended climate change conferences
because many people
I think have
amazing and brilliant ideas like yours
but they hesitate a lot
because the world
shows you that
you have to
academically
(35:32):
prove yourself or be
I don't know
40 years old
and then you can actually
cause you're young
you have been a cook
all your life
how do you make this switch
what motivated you
to make the switch
to be like autonomous
like from working from somebody
to work for yourself
how do you make that
what are the fears you face
and how do you
reason it out
but I always jump into deep water
(35:53):
and the low
swimming there
you eat a failure swim right
if you fail
then you start again
so you always gotta have some fear that
like I have fears doing new things
have something like
there's some big things going up this year and like
naturally you have some respect for them and fear
but it doesn't mean that's not a reason to not act
(36:14):
or to not learn
like that was always my only way of
how did I actually became better and like
learn something new
but you jump into the deep water and like
swim or swim or dive
I'm like I love the perspective
I think yeah
risk is a big factor
many people see a risk like
very negative
but yeah I mean
what's the worst thing that can happen
(36:34):
exactly exactly
you you fail
you're gonna mess it up
and then what
you start again
no that's a great perspective
I think anybody listening to this needs to hear this
that you know
as you said
there's nothing worse that could happen than failing
which is not as bad either
to fail at something
you fail and you always start again
if you really want to do that
then you're just gonna look at like
(36:55):
what did you go wrong
and then you just gonna go from there
like there is no way that everything gonna go right
all the time
of course oh no
lovely white tech
I think I'm gonna use this as a queue to
end this podcast over here
I think it's a beautiful thought
to leave people inspired
and yeah I mean
thank you so much for such a short notice
being a guest on the podcast
and I hope you had a great time
(37:16):
too yeah yeah
I mean thanks
thanks a lot for watching man
that was a good job
thank you thank you
so that's it
from this week's episode of Boy Address
a podcast where we bring to you
the voice of the fugitive chefs
if you like listening to these interviews
do subscribe to us
so that you do not miss out on any of these episodes
you can also find us on Instagram and YouTube
as Boyathras podcast
(37:37):
we release new episodes every Tuesday
alternating between English and Spanish
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