• Chef Iulian Olaru showed us how you can build an exceptional career through an iron will and perseverance.
Leaving Romania as a teenager, Chef Iulian Olaru started on the path to success passing through many difficult situations. After 23 years spent in Italy, he returns to the country to show us the gastronomic mastery acquired in years of learning and improvement.
Known to many from the show "Chefs la cuțite", Iulian Olaru has special menus created as Executive Chef at Le Chateau in Bucharest, or at Trattoria Garibaldi also in Bucharest, spectacular desserts at Confectionery Deliciu Urban by Chef Iulian Olaru, but also Cooking Shows held both within the Carnexpo Grill and in various other locations.
1. Tell us in a few words: who is the man Iulian Olaru?
Julian Olaru he is a very simple person who started from the bottom and worked very, very hard to get here. He is a person who loves what he does and never forgets where he came from.
2. Why did you choose this career? Is it something you always dreamed of, or was it the will of chance?
I never dreamed of becoming a Chef. Although my mother says that as a child I was attracted to what was going on in the kitchen, trying to "poke my nose" in all dishes, for me this is a passion discovered about 14 years ago.
3. We know you are also passionate about sports and spend a lot of time at the gym. How do you combine this passion with gastronomy?
Yes, indeed, sport is another passion of mine. I "discovered" late I could say, at the age of 34, when I decided to make a change. To be able to combine work with sport requires sacrifice, which translates into waking up every morning at 5:6 or XNUMX to be able to go to the gym for the first time. It takes determination to be able to make an image change like I was able to do. Moreover, I also motivate those who know my story, but also friends who want to get in shape.
4. What is the first dish you ever cooked? What about your favorite dish?
I think the first dish cooked was pasta. During the time I lived in Italy, the pasta carbonara I made was enjoyed even by my Italian friends. I love to cook with meat, but my favorites are seafood, which turns pasta into a special menu.
5. Every Chef has preferences regarding the ingredients he uses. What are your favorite ingredients to work with?
For about two years, I have chosen a different path... I have chosen to work only at maximum quality, with premium ingredients. No more "come down" because, if you want a successful preparation, you must have quality raw material. This is what I try to convey to my colleagues in the guild: the success of a dish is given by the quality of the ingredients, but also by the passion with which you cook it and the way you accompany it with various other products, obviously also of premium quality.
6. You have stated in a previous interview that you choose to live your life to the fullest. How does this translate to the menus you create?
It's true: I live every moment to the max and I try to convey this through what I cook. Through my dishes, I like to take my clients, guests, friends on culinary adventures, to stimulate their taste buds. I prefer, at the same time, to "I'm going easy", not to complicate myself too much. And that's because simple, but high-quality things will satisfy the most demanding tastes.
7. I saw that you participated in this year's 2022 edition of the World Food Industry Show, SIAL, in Paris. How did you represent Romania there? How did it go?
Yes, I attended UNLUCKY, a large-scale event, having the honor of being the image of Scandia Food, on the Frozen side. As we know, Scandia developed in the segment of canned food, pâtés. The Scandia Food Frozen part, with frozen products, has also been added to it for several years ready to cook, ready to eat, which enjoyed enormous success. Unfortunately, we live in a world where time seems to be compressed and we no longer have time to prepare elaborate menus. Then we turn to these frozen dishes which, in 12/18 minutes in the oven, turn into a successful meal.
A very interesting ingredient that I never thought I would cook with is chicken, beef, fish substitute. The most absurd thing seemed to me that I managed to prepare a kebab without meat!
Over time, meat substitute dishes will grow in popularity as many people choose to avoid meat for various reasons. With two good sauces, with two or three vegetables, you really don't notice the difference anymore.
We tested this by making products from meat substitutes and offering them for tasting. Consumers didn't feel any difference, and that's when we didn't use excess sauces to cover the tastes. I prepared 4 miniburgers of 30 grams, from broccoli, green beans, mushrooms and asparagus. I offered them for tasting first without added sauce, then with added sauces, to experience the full taste.
8. In addition to the special menus, you also have a choice of exceptional desserts. How do you combine Chef skills with Pastry Chef skills?
The desserts part is another passion of mine. Many people don't believe it, but when I'm upset, I make a dessert recipe. I had a more difficult time when, after a flood in the lab, several of my equipment broke. As I opened the laboratory in the middle of the pandemic and the last money was being invested there, this was a big disappointment, which almost made me quit. I passed the time and now I'm working again, but only on order. I couldn't give up everything, because a successful meal must end with an exceptional dessert. The complete experience will cause the customer to return to that location.
And on the dessert side, I keep the standards high. I try to make desserts without added sugar and this "caught on" really well. In the chocolate mousses, I do not add a single gram of sugar, the taste being exclusive to the ingredients used. But to offer premium desserts, only from quality ingredients, this cannot be done at low prices. That's why I chose to work only to order: special cakes, at a high quality. I chose the deluxe cake range, not the traditional dessert range. After a luxurious aperitif, an exceptional beef tenderloin and a sensational fois gras, I cannot serve the client a simple amandine. They expect a dessert to match the menu!
9. What advice would you give to a young person who wants to choose a career in gastronomy? What would be the key to success in your opinion?
He has to look in the mirror in the morning and ask himself if he loves this job and if he really wants to do it, or is he only focused on the material side. Unfortunately, this is exactly how the world of chefs is divided: those who do it for profit and those who follow this career out of passion.
I chose to do this career out of passion. And this also translates into earnings. Because the passion you translate into the way you prepare the menus will undoubtedly bring you success. Obviously, the material part is also important, especially if you want to improve yourself. For example, a course for slicing Jamòn is about 800 euros and I give this amount because it is vital to continuously participate in specialization courses.
I am constantly developing, something that I have tried to convey to my colleagues, but also to those with whom I have worked and whose careers I am proud to have shaped. You can't grow if you stay locked in a kitchen, if you don't open yourself up to new experiences.
And I think a Chef should earn more, because it is a job of sacrifice. Think that on holidays, in the evening of Christmas, New Year's Eve, Easter, instead of staying with the family, a Chef prepares menus for customers. Those who choose this career must also assume this aspect. I, unfortunately, sacrificed my family life. And that's because I'm completely dedicated to my career. If I get a call in the middle of the night and am told that the next day I have to be in Milan, Oradea, wherever, I get in the car and go.
It is important for a Chef to participate in specialization courses, events as it is SIGEP, in Rimini, where I am present every year, to take the pulse of trends, to find out the color of the year, the taste of the year and to meet with specialists in the field, the best worldwide. And it is equally important that I keep in constant touch with them, by all the means at my disposal, being very good friends, among others, with Panettone World Champion And with Fabrizio Fiorani.
10. What future plans does Chef Iulian Olaru have? What will surprise us with?
I left the restaurant, from "cage" a simple kitchen. I can do that too, but in the short term. To have freedom of expression, we developed the concept of Cooking Show. I must also admit that "I sell myself a little high" and many venues can't afford to keep me.
"To receive in life, you must first give" – is the principle by which I am guided. And I was not shy, in the kitchens I passed through, to start from the bottom. Now I'm working on something, a project that I really care about, which is to put my name on some products that will hit the market. With the help of Scandia, I hope to complete this project as soon as possible.
11. Do you have a person who motivates you, or a motto that guides you in life?
I have always found motivation within myself. Even when no one believed in what I could achieve, I managed to find the strength to follow my path. During the summer I also had my son by my side, who, even though he chose a different path in life, worked alongside me at the events I participated in. It was a life lesson for him. I wanted to show him that it's not easy to make money and that you have to work to make your dreams come true.
The foundation on which I built my career is represented by the phrase "From raw material to art". The raw material is very important. From a quality raw material, with talent, culinary preparations can be obtained at the level of art. Even a seemingly mundane ingredient, such as the potato, at my cooking shows, mashed and baked on the stove according to my grandmother's recipe, creates a sensation among the guests, often surpassing the meat in preference! The ordinary potato with butter and garlic, baked and mashed on the stove, becomes a work of art.
Perseverance and will are the two words that are the key to my success. When you suddenly decide to run 10 kilometers, you clearly won't be able to! But if you persevere and take it gradually you will cover those miles. Everything is to want!
Audio version of the interview:
Interview conducted by Gabriela Dan, Editor of Arta Albă
Read on White Art and: Saffron – the most expensive spice in the world
