Season 2, Episode 6 of Netflix’s Chef’s Table begins with Chef Ana Ros walking through the stunning Slovenian countryside and expressing her philosophy:
“Love is crucial. If we don’t have love, it’s difficult to work well. And in the kitchen, that’s extremely important. When one is loved, she can create better. There is more passion. More beautiful thoughts. Because of love, we do nice things… and sometimes we create catastrophes.”
I watched this episode a couple of years ago, and for some reason, have been wanting to watch it again. This morning I queued it up, and it was perfect.
Ana described her slow rise to fame as the chef of Hisa Franko, which at the time of the filming, was number 48 on the 50 Best Restaurants in the World. Ana is completely self-taught– her formal education having focused on political science.
What struck me most about this story was that she took over as chef with no idea what she was doing. The restaurant had been left to her husband when his father, the longtime proprietor, had retired. Her husband was the sommelier, so she stepped into the kitchen.
In her at-the-time inept hands, the restaurant lost almost all of its regular customers. She struggled and experimented, with no idea why her bread would not rise or her meats would end up overcooked and tough. With the loss of customers, the pair struggled financially as well, all while balancing the early years of family life (their two children were born during this time).
For FIVE YEARS she persisted, trying and failing and sometimes succeeding. She learned techniques from books and from other chefs. She and her husband dined out at highly regarded restaurants so she could learn.
Once she had begun to master cooking technique, she discovered a new philosophy. A restaurant critic friend of hers suggested that she use regional, local ingredients. Her enthusiastic adoption of her native cuisine, reinterpreted by her own creative mind, was what catapulted her, the restaurant, and the nation to international prominence.
This all fits neatly into a 30-minute Netflix episode, as well as into a blog post. But this is hindsight. At the time, it must have been so difficult, so confusing, and so messy. I’m in awe and admiration at her tenacity over that impossible five year period.
Go Forth 