Food is all around us, and there are many hungry people
Thanks to his appearance in popular TV shows dealing with the topics of nutrition and gastronomy, a few years ago in Serbia people heard about Toni Radić, an innovative chef. Perhaps he would have remained just one of many whose star shines in an instant, if not for his dedicated persistence in the promotion of healthy nutrition, but also for his restless research spirit and great knowledge.
Toni intrigues with healthy and affordable creations, and unforgettable sights and tastes of unusual dishes and treats for the eye and palate. His gift and experience have been recognized by many top restaurateurs in Belgrade and Serbia, whose business imperative is the satisfaction of the most discerning guests. And once, in one of those restaurants, you try the quince cream pie, it will become clearer to you what an "innovative chef" is.
We talked about this and some other nice topics with Tony at the award ceremony for the best recipe of the year organized by the "Recipes & Kuvar online" portal, whose new associate and permanent member of the jury for judging recipes.
First, we wanted Tony to explain to us, where did the name innovative chef come from?
- Two decades ago in Austria, I met Guido de Polo, an Italian, the owner of the 17th-century Brukevnir castle. He had a restaurant in that castle and he invited me to cook. When he saw what and how I was doing, he gave me the biggest professional compliment by saying: "You are not a chef. The chef is the chef, and you create, you are creative. You have to create and design." Here, Gidio gave me an idea, and I tried to work in that spirit and to justify myself as a "creative-innovative chef" - says Toni.
When did you become interested in healthy eating and creating new dishes from healthy ingredients?
- My gastronomic awakening, in the sense of paying attention to healthy eating, happened in France, in Marseille. I went there wanting to learn Provençal cuisine, and then I came across the restaurant "Country Life". I was intrigued that there was a bookstore and a school of healthy eating on the floor above the restaurant. It was there that I met people for the first time with a mission to educate professionals, as well as anyone interested, in the importance of organically grown foods. They inspired me and inspired me to take that path, which is an inexhaustible inspiration for gastronomes.
Was it difficult to throw away everything you learned during your traditional culinary education and take a completely new path?
- There is one most important personal moment that helped me a lot - Tony smiles enigmatically, and then reveals a secret: - At the age of 23, I weighed 36 kilograms more than now and looked much older. When I switched to healthy food, I lost weight, brought my body into balance and changed so much that I had to change my personal documents. Of course, what I knew before was not lightly dismissed. There are many good things in classic gastronomy.
So, your own experience was an incentive to continue on that path?
- The role of organic food in nutrition is manifested above all in health, but its aesthetic importance is not negligible either, so a healthy diet is absolutely also in the service of beauty. This is proof that an attractive appearance is achieved not only with the help of expensive cosmetic products and treatments, but also with proper nutrition.
You studied world vegetarian specialties and prepared meals for many famous people - models, statesmen and politicians. How is this trend of a predominantly vegetarian diet accepted in Serbia when we know that Serbs are passionate meat eaters?
- I think that I demonstrated, proved and broke prejudices about expensive, tasteless and unimaginative healthy eating. Food of plant origin is an inexhaustible source of inspiration. I am happy that the guests, in the restaurants for which I designed healthy menus, order some dishes out of pure curiosity, and then they are delighted by the taste, so they start to think differently. Things are changing everywhere, including here in Serbia. People understand more and more how important health is, and I try to show through the books, lectures and dishes I create that the way we eat is the most important link in the health of each of us.
You ran the first vegetarian hotel in Croatia and held cooking schools all over Europe. You make television shows and write books. What advice do you have for those who want to change their diet or adapt their diet to healthier styles?
- The best "students" are those who manage to reduce body weight, so I often give advice on how to solve that problem. These people later search for and discover the richness and variety of vegetarian food themselves. In the fight for a slim line, I recommend a breakfast rich in foods that provide energy and do not burden the digestive organs. These are carbohydrates combined with fresh fruit, nuts or vegetables. For lunch, you should eat cereals and legumes, which are an adequate substitute for meat proteins due to their amino acid composition. Combinations can be soy-rice, lentils-millet, buckwheat-wheat. For dinner, fresh fruit, vegetables with wholemeal bread or pasta, vegetable soup or diet salads with seeds - Tony recommends.
You say that both health and illness come from the plate. Is the future in a new way of applying food and in changing old habits?
- Absolutely! They say that one extra kilogram shortens life by seven years. Obesity is mostly caused by fats, especially of animal origin, refined carbohydrates, white flour, white sugar, alcoholic beverages and excessive use of salt. That's why I plan to introduce healthy food into kindergartens and schools and to start education from an early age. I am also working on my superfood without thermal processing and preparing a healthy nutrition program for athletes. I'm also thinking about a new show about healthy food, because I want to emphasize everything that nature gives us: nettle, sedge, wild greens, dandelion... People are dying of hunger, and you can eat as much as you want in nature, we just lack ideas - says Toni at the end of the conversation Working.
Toni Radić, a short biography
He was born in 1972 in Salzburg, Austria. He acquired his cooking skills in the hotels "Salzburgerhof Zell am See", "Hotel Bauer", "Sport Hotel Capron" and others. He continues his culinary training in the restaurant "Country Life" in Marseille and in other places in France and Italy. He was a student of great names in gastronomy such as: Philippe Alfonso (France), Egidio de Polo (Italy), Sigpal (India).
He has published several specialized cookbooks and is considered a leading expert on healthy and vegetarian nutrition. At seminars in this field, he trained the managers of the hotel "Metropolis" in Portorož, the hotel-residence "Brdo kod Kranje", and the hotels "Habakuk" in Maribor, "Lav" in Ljubljana...
He has been living and working in Belgrade since 2008, and in the past three years he worked in the restaurants "Madera" and "Franš", "Zlatni Bokal", "Three Hats"... He was the personal chef of many famous people.
Read more about Tony's work at www.tonikuvar.com.
Belgrade, January 2015.
Interview conducted by: Branka G. Gajić
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