... cook like Trettl

Roland Trettl is executive chef at “Ikarus” in Hangar-7 (Salzburg, Austria), where eleven months a year he plays host to the best chefs in the world. He disclosed some tips, which create “artistes de cuisine” also out of beginners.

What is good food? What is bad food?

(long pause to think) Good food is passion. Bad food is a waste of time.

And how can you keep the two things apart, especially when our tastebud-nerves are being deadened by fast food and microwave meals?

By trying and comparing. It’s not as if you have to go to a gourmet restaurant every week, but you should try to overcome your inhibitions more often and get to know how good restaurants cook.

What three provisions should I always have stocked in my kitchen ...?

You can’t ever be without salt. Then olive oil. And good balsamic vinegar.

... and what things can all kitchens do without?

Flavor enhancers. Frozen foods and even canned foods on the other hand can be used selectively by all means. You can get high quality frozen creamed spinach, for example, and tinned corn is also absolutely fine. Canned ravioli and similar things are of course better left alone.

What should I start with when I begin trying to cook? With dishes that I like or things that are particularly easy? Or with meals that are too expensive in a restaurant?

It doesn’t matter. The main thing is: don’t be afraid. Buy a cookbook, choose a dish you like and try it out. In the beginning you’ll make a lot of mistakes, but you’ll gain confidence. Invite friends as soon as it works, and cook for them. And as soon as your living room gets too small you can open a restaurant.

Almost more important than the work in the kitchen is buying the ingredients. Give us some insider tips about how to recognize the freshness and quality of some groceries that have particular importance in your kitchen.

With fish you have to pay attention to the redness of the gills and the glossiness of their eyes; above all, though, the smell. It should smell of the sea and not like fish. Asparagus shouldn’t have dark tips. With crustaceans the tail should rest nicely on the body ... But I don’t actually stick to any of these rules myself. You have to thoroughly check each individual product, then you can really feel its freshness. A morning at the market is not an easy-going trip, but demands full concentration.

You invite first-class chefs from all over the world and different cultures to Hangar-7. What things do these men and women have, or better said, what attributes does a top-class chef need to have?

I’ve had 40 visiting chefs up till now and each one had a different character and idea about quality, about leading a team, about humanity, about hygiene. The only thing they all had in common was the readiness to work to exhaustion 14 to 16 hours a day.

Obviously you need a lot of time for the preparation of good food … What, though, do those of us do who only have half an hour for the preparation and consumption of lunch?

There are hundreds of meals that can be made quickly. You can sautée porcini in olive oil and herbs, or make fresh tomatoes with diced mozzarella and spaghetti. I really don’t understand why so many people are satisfied with microwave food.

It’s well known that the way to a person’s heart is through the stomach. What self-cooked meal promises success on a date?

When I have a date at home, I don’t put on a lobster spread. An easy noodle dish is enough. It’s really not about what you cook but how you do it: how much attention and love you give the ingredients, the quality of the products, how to use herbs so they make a difference. If you put a lot of passion into your cooking, the passion will carry on after the meal ...