Interview with the Chef

“The greatest satisfaction is when a guest recognizes my signature,” says renowned Slovak chef Michael Kordos, with whom we have long-standing collaboration on charity pop-up dinners and various gastro projects. In this interview, he reveals what his internship at prestigious restaurants gave him, how he handles cooking for royal couples, and why he can't imagine a kitchen today without local and seasonal ingredients.

Michael, you have gathered your culinary skills all over the world. What was your greatest experience cooking at prestigious restaurants?

Undoubtedly, it was my internship at the Noma restaurant. Just the contrast with the Tuscan restaurant in Bratislava, where I previously worked part-time, was enormous. I had never seen such a machine. The number of chefs was almost as high as the number of guests. It was something unbelievable, and naturally, it was challenging to adapt to their uncompromising pace and standards.

Many people struggle daily with what to cook and how to prepare a great meal. What is your personal recipe for success in the kitchen?

It may be a bit cliché, but sometimes less is more. And there is beauty in simplicity. You don't need much to create simple yet tasty food. Giving room for quality ingredients and not overcomplicating the flavors are basic principles for cooking sustainably and well at home. So, I’m not a fan of radical, temporary diets. Everyone should find their own recipe for not stressing over planning and securing ingredients. And at the same time, enjoy it.

Many chefs say cooking is an art. What inspires you as a chef to elevate your dishes to the level of art?

My priority is to add value to the food so that guests can immediately recognize that they couldn't just make something like this themselves. At the same time, it’s important for me to imprint my signature in the dish to the extent that the guest can immediately identify it as my creation. That is the greatest satisfaction for me.

What ingredients are fundamental to you in the kitchen? Do you have any personal "secret ingredients" you always use in your dishes?

I don’t have any. My preferences and tastes are always changing and evolving. What I cooked a year ago, I wouldn’t cook now. I am always fascinated by a different ingredient, food, or flavor that I focus on. And then it suddenly passes, and I find something else. For example, this past year, I’ve really enjoyed dried plums. Sweet or savory. They give dishes a unique texture, acidity, and a mild sweetness. I even perceive a kind of umami "finish" in dried plums, so their use is endless.

Are there any trends in gastronomy that have excited you recently? What do you like most about the current culinary world?

I must admit that despite attending the gastronomic conference in Madrid – Madrid Fusión – every year, following channels of various great chefs, and discovering wonderful restaurants, I don’t focus on trends as much anymore. As a long-term trend, I see sustainability, the reduced consumption of meat, and an emphasis on local and seasonal ingredients. Minimizing waste. All of these should be the standard, but unfortunately, climate change forces us to pay more attention to these steps.

How do you deal with stress in the kitchen when preparing meals for demanding guests, such as royal couples or public officials?

It’s really fascinating to me, but I’ve realized that the most stress I have is paradoxically the last few days before cooking, up until the moment the first dish goes out to the guests. Whether it’s a royal couple or anyone else. After that moment, the stress disappears, and I can fully enjoy it. Although, of course, in the middle of all that, I always forget to record the dishes and serving, and then I feel bad about it. (Laughs)

“Giving room for quality ingredients and not overcomplicating flavors are basic principles for cooking sustainably and well at home.”

Your approach to seasonal ingredients is a very well-known aspect of your recipes. How do you choose the ingredients you use, and what is most important for you when selecting them?

There is a lot of spontaneity involved. The dishes rarely repeat. And even when they do, it’s never exactly the same recipe. This applies to ingredients as well. I’m always drawn to something different. With the aforementioned climate change, even the seasonality of ingredients is changing. May bryndza (sheep cheese) is suddenly available in April. And I could go on. It’s necessary to perceive it in the given time and react accordingly to what is the tastiest and freshest.

We are glad that the Saturn Terra collection has worked well for you. Do you have any tips on how to use this cookware effectively at home?

They’re good for everything! I use them for cooking, baking. From steaks to pasta, risotto, to baked fish or crumble cakes. And then just pop them in the dishwasher – done.

What is your favorite piece from this collection?

Definitely the deep 28 cm frying pan. I like this size the most – because it has universal use, from frying to making the aforementioned Italian risotto, but it can also handle soups.

Do you personally have any tips on how to make cooking more eco-friendly and sustainable?

Consider locality, seasonality. Feel free to occasionally eat that avocado – a big difference can be made just by choosing whether it's from a bio farm in Spain or the burned forests in Chile. The same goes for meat, of course. Prefer local suppliers. It’s not just direct support for sales, you’re showing that it matters to you, and in the long run, it can have only a positive effect on us.

What is your favorite childhood recipe that you like to revisit?

That’s a really tough question. But if I had to pick something the most unusual, it would probably be a toasted sourdough toast with butter and Marmite, which is a thick yeast extract, very salty, full of umami and vitamin B. A specialty mostly in the UK. Black gold of gastronomy. (Laughs)

And finally, what do you enjoy doing besides cooking?

In my free time, I mainly focus on my dogs, and when I really need to switch off, I play drums or go out into nature, which I ironically enjoy the most when the weather is bad. (Laughs)