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Graduated in Fine Arts, he abandoned his brushes to pick up knives and work in restaurant kitchens, a job he combined with his studies. Now publishes the book En marcha cuina. Stories of a cook with rock'n'roll (Cossetania) while keeping the TV3 Cuines program active .


In the book you explain that a cook must be quick, decisive and efficient. Remarks that, if not, everything will go wrong. Such sincerity is not common among the culinary elite.


— And I don't understand, because this is a demanding job. The kitchen must work like a classical dance ballet in which all the dancers are coordinated. From the outside the viewer observes their beauty, elegance and harmony, but each one of them is suffering because their toes are the only thing that touches the ground, and they hurt. 


Work with immediacy because diners get to eat at the same time, especially now that restaurants work in very specific slots.


— We are not the only ones, look at the emergency doctors in hospitals, for example. But yes, there are dishes that are ordered and made to order.


But there are dishes that you have half done, or with the most laborious steps advanced...


— It depends on the type of restaurant you have. If I have "baked fish" on the menu, the only prior preparation I could have done is to have the fish peeled, gutted and clean, apart from having the oven on so that it is hot. When they ask me to do it I will have to do it on the spot. However, if it is a haute cuisine restaurant, the previous preparation is extraordinary and when the diners sit down at the table what will be done is the assembly, placing the ingredients on the plate. In both cases, concentration and coordination are essential.



Do egos in the kitchen help creativity or make work worse?


— There are egos in the kitchen, as in all jobs. What they hide is low self-esteem: not wanting to show one's weaknesses because we live in a society that does not accept them. We all have to admit that we've screwed up at some point, because it's the only way to get away with it. I put the egos in the kitchen, because then the services don't come out as they should.


In the book, you dedicate a chapter to Anna Brotons, a colleague of the program Cuines de TV3, because she is one of those who help everything to run smoothly.


— Yes, because Anna never assumes that she knows everything. He always wants to learn and never wants to wear medals because he knows that cooking is a team effort. Success and error is everyone's.


Many kitchens are linked to the figure of the chef, and we don't usually know the names of the head chefs or chefs.


— In a restaurant, work does not depend on just one person. Many times the chefs aren't even there, and if they are, they haven't touched a stove the entire service. Then they come out at the end, receive the customers and the applause... Very funny!



A similar thing happens with haute couture brands: the name of the brand is paid for and the owner of the name has not touched the garment at any time.


— They do it because they have people who want to work for them. If it happens to you, you must see it as luck, or a success, but without thinking that you are God Our Lord. If you believe that, you have an expiration date, because what makes a chef strong is always his team. The win is that they want to work with you.


Did you study cooking?


— No, I studied fine arts and while studying I worked in several restaurants to finance my studies. When I completed the five years of my university degree, I picked up the brushes to paint oil paintings, which is my passion. But I was always thinking about the kitchen, so I nodded and left.


Do you paint now?


- Whenever I can. I'm into figurative, hyperrealistic paintings, and with my two daughters, Ona (6 years) and Sira (2), it's what we usually do. Drawing is to feed the imagination and we also use them to review what we have done throughout the day: I say to them: "Let's draw what we did today?" And let's start


When you cook do you start from a specific recipe or do you interpret the recipes freely?


— I don't invent any recipe, but I do think: "Let's see what we can do..." Creativity is an attitude, and I have this need cooking, drawing or doing other projects that I push forward, but without the encouragement of want to invent anything I am a partner in the Gelats de Territori company , where we make ice creams from seasonal products and from small producers in the country. Is it a novelty? No, but the peculiarity is that we only use local products.


Give me some examples of ice cream.


— For Christmas, we made the ice cream of the Christmas log cake, of King's tortell, of nougat and of catania. We also have the lemon sorbet with brut nature, with Llopart cava. Trias cookies. We make agreements with producers in the country to encourage their artisanal products. We want to cover the whole territory, which is our commitment. 


Where do you sell them?


— In the large distribution: supermarkets, shops, restaurants... We have created a website that includes a map indicating where to find us county by county. I created this because one day I realized that we didn't have Lleida peach ice cream at our house, but we did have passion fruit ice cream. We owe it to the territory! We should do as in France: believe the country and not buy food where we shouldn't. We must be guided by proximity.



With the two restaurants in which you collaborate, El Panot in Barcelona and La Taverna del Ciri in Terrassa, closed, are you making more ice cream than ever?


— We've been growing with ice cream, but it's not the alternative route to restaurants, because I've never earned a penny in restaurants either. I have a way to pay the rent and fill the fridge at home that doesn't involve making ice cream or going to restaurants. Now, I really enjoy having local workers in ERTE.


We see you every day in the Cuines program on TV3. Will there be a fifth season of Card Game ?


— The intention is there, hopefully it will go ahead.


You teach how to cook at home. Do you think people are imitating you now more than ever?


— I guess so, but I would also tell people to buy takeout from restaurants and eat it at home. Cooks who are spreading recipes on Instagram are not promoting restaurants, which cannot afford to be closed. Cooking for Instagram means wanting to make a personal profit.



Get the new book by Marc Ribas NOW


The popular host of Cuines i Joc de cards presents En marcha, cuina!, a collection of traditional Catalan cuisine recipes that are surprising, tasty, easy to make and made with fresh and local products. In his new book, Marc Ribas shows us his more personal side and opens the door to his kitchen through experiences he has encountered in front of the stove (and also behind it). "Brutal" recipes that combine with high doses of humor and the unmistakable rock'n'roll component of Ribas, a mixture that will delight the reader. 


Get Go, Cook! , by Marc Ribas, with the ARA, available in newsstands until February 13 and online until February 21, for only €18.90.