Interview: chef Douglas Rodriguez (Alma de Cuba, Deseo, De Rodriguez Cuba + OLA)

  • Home
  • Chefs
  • Interview: chef Douglas Rodriguez (Alma de Cuba, Deseo, De Rodriguez Cuba + OLA)
Chef Miami

INTERVIEW CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Is there anything that you don’t enjoy eating?

Oh yeah, there are a lot of things that I don’t enjoy eating. I’m not a big fan of blue cheese…I’m willing to try anything, and my diet over the years has changed significantly. My diet today is 60% plant based, fruit and vegetable, by choice. I was an Atkins freak for 10 years, and that almost killed me…Improperly cooked food is one thing I don’t enjoy eating, but when the food is good, no matter what, it has a magical way of disappearing.

What sort of music do you like to listen to in the kitchen, if any?

Only during the day, during prep, in the back of the kitchen, I don’t get to listen to what I like to listen to, but it’s like pop music. Pop Latin. Top 100. But at home I like listening to classical music, opera, while I’m cooking.

What do you look for when you’re hiring somebody to work in one of your kitchens?

I’d rather hire somebody with no experience, with a good attitude, than a kid who thinks he knows everything. Most recently, I interviewed kids who are just out of school, and they’re interviewing me. They want to know what kind of cooking methods I’m doing in the kitchen, and if I’m doing any molecular cooking. They’re interviewing me. I said, “Listen, before you can get into any molecular cooking, first thing you’ve got to do is learn how to sear a piece of fish, or salt something, or properly make something. You’re not for me. So I’d rather hire somebody who has zero experience in the kitchen, and has a great attitude and wants to learn. The interview process, I try to get to know somebody, see how much they smile, if they’re humble.

Is there any downside to the celebration of chefs and the celebratization of chefs?

I don’t think so. I think it’s better for the culinary world, and it’s just better for chefs.

Is there a chef you’ve never cooked with before that you’d really like to cook with?

Actually, my biggest mentor in my career is a chef named Felipe Rojas-Lombardi. He wrote a book called “The Art of South American Cooking,” and I never met him because he passed away. That would be a little difficult to do, but I never got to cook with him.

So he was your mentor even though you never got a chance to meet?

Yeah, his book changed my life.

At what point did you discover it?

Right when it was released. The book was released, and he died soon after that. Before the book was released.

Did you play any sports in high school?

Yes, I was a football player, a pretty good one too.

Which position?

Center, nose guard and defensive tackle, but mostly nose guard.

How do you stay active these days?

I exercise. I walk in the morning. That’s my main sport. I play racquetball too.

Address: 101 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33137
Tags:

Joshua Lurie

Joshua Lurie founded FoodGPS in 2005. Read about him here.

Leave a Comment