Q&A with Leon Mazairac
Leon Mazairac: chef and owner of restaurant Culinair Podium onder de Dom, Utrecht. Recently named Promise of the Year by GaultMillau.
Which food trend should we put an immediate stop to?
Discount vouchers, Albert Heijn promotions and restaurant weeks. Food is already too cheap. Especially when you consider how much labor goes into it. Wine could be cheaper, but the price of food is far too low. Why fifty percent off?
Most memorable dining experience?
Pierre Gagnaire, Paris. He is always just a few steps ahead of the pack. He combines classic French cuisine wonderfully with the cuisines of the world. One of the greatest chefs. I ate lightly poached oysters with smoked parsley and a kumquat broth there. I also remember the hommard blue, served in a large dish with a silver cloche and, underneath it, seven (!) preparations of lobster.
Favorite drink?
A glass of Barbaresco, the world-famous wine from Piedmont. I am a great lover of Piedmont.
Indispensable kitchen gadget?
Oyster knife.
What would you never eat again?
Once in the Antilles, I was served a kind of goat’s-blood bread soup. Fresh blood, heated with stock and sautéed finely chopped onion and bread. An unbelievably disgusting mush.
Which country is your favorite when it comes to food?
Belgium. From fry shack to Michelin-starred restaurant, you can eat fantastically there.
What should everyone have eaten at least once?
My ravioli with confit oxtail. After all these years, it should really come off the menu once, but my regular guests and I cannot say goodbye to it.
What is the best supermarket product?
Peanut butter. Calvé. And then as a guilty midnight snack on warm toast (so the peanut butter starts to melt), with wasabi and cucumber.
What is still on your food wish list?
A trip to China, from street food to three-Michelin-star restaurants. I really need to go there.
Which cookbook should everyone have on their shelf?
Grand Livre De Cuisine by Alain Ducasse, one of my mentors, whom I had the opportunity to work for for several years.
What do you like to make at home when you want to eat quickly and well?
Meatballs in tomato sauce with rice or a potato. Delicious.
Which dish do you have no self-control around?
My mother’s rice pudding. With butter, cinnamon and brown sugar. I want to put it on our menu. But I cannot manage to do it. I cannot convey the eating experience I have with it to others.
Text: Marcus Polman
Image: Podium onder de Dom
